Requiem Aeternam - _Philosopher_
(ICorp, 2004)
by: Brian Meloon (7.5 out of 10)
Requiem Aeternum hail originally from Uruguay, but main man José Romero
now lives and works in New York City. This is their second full-length
album, following on the heels of 1998's _Eternally Dying_. Each of
the eight songs here is based upon the writings of a philosopher, such
as Nietzsche, Kierkegaard and Heraclitus, with one being based upon
Romero's own writings. Yet unlike the latest grandiloquent garbage
from Winds, the material here is down-to-earth
and listenable. The music is generally black metal-based, but features
numerous death/thrash sections. Each of the songs also contains one or
more clean and/or melodic sections. In general, the songs are diverse
in terms of tempos and styles, so the music is neither repetitive
nor dominated by any one sound. The band make a big deal in their
promotional material of having Alex Hernandez (Immolation) on drums,
but the other members of the band are no slouches either. In fact,
the playing on all fronts is quite good.There really is only one major problem with this release, and it's the
vocals. The album has a mix of black metal screams -- nicely done, with a
hint of scream in the harsh rasp -- and clean vocals. Unfortunately, the
clean vocals are very nasally and whiny, and have the added disadvantage
of an obvious accent. Still, they do have a quirky charm to them, and
some of my favorite moments on this disc are where the clean vocals are
the most prominent. However, it's something I think the band should work
on for their future releases. A lesser concern with the album is that
although the production is quite clear, it isn't really very powerful.With more powerful production and some better vocals, this could be on
the level of Brazil's Avec Tristesse [CoC #78]. However, it's still
an enjoyable and worthy release the way it is. Although it took me a
few listens to get used to the sound, after I did, it earned a regular
spot in my CD changer. I'd expect that fans of high-brow extreme metal
should enjoy this, and it's worth searching out.
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