CoC : Agony Lords - The Sun Of The Cursed : Review

Agony Lords - _The Sun Of The Cursed_
(Oz Productions, 1997)
by: Paul Schwarz (8 out of 10)

Agony Lords (AL) have produced a well written debut full of songs which are catchy but also heavy, not Deicide heavy, more a Paradise Lost (PL) on albums 3 to 5, In Flames and Iron Maiden heavy. The Iron Maiden influence is most evident on certain riffs, the opening riff on "The Shadow and the Silence" being a prime example. Paradise Lost are definitely a major player in this band's musical mind and although lacking the edge of being (almost) the first to do the gothic metal thing as PL were, AL do it well and retain that essential heaviness which set PL apart from all those shite "gothic metal" bands and also sets AL apart from them. There are slight repetitions noticeable in the music and sometimes in the lyrical lines - "of our lives" is used to end two songs -, and this similarity of songs was always my slight problem with PL, but, as with PL, AL still produce a highly enjoyable album. Although this release doesn't surpass their influences it is still very good and could fill the gap left now that Paradise Lost have stopped playing this type of music.

Contact: X-Rated Records, c/o Mathias Kietzmann

(article published 16/10/1997)