CoC : Sacramentum - The Coming Of Chaos : Review

Sacramentum - _The Coming Of Chaos_
(Century Media, 1997)
by: Paul Schwarz (6 out of 10)

This album's greatest achievement is its production: it remains clear while retaining the brutality of the music. The production is the only part, however, which is top class. The most accurate way to describe the music would be: black metal with melody (e.g. Old Man's Child) mixed with retro death/thrash (e.g. Swordmaster). This is not one of those albums you can just classify, throw on a pile and leave, though; Sacramentum have dug deeper into their musical soul than that. Their combining of many different styles and sounds into a single song is commendable and highlights their proficiency as musicians. Though technically impressive, this fruit salad of riffs doesn't lead to very good songs. The lack of variation in the vocals, which change only to deliver brief speeches, doesn't compliment the music at all. On the whole: some songs are good and some are boring; none are awful, but similarly none are brilliant. A truly average album then? It would be, but there is a twist to this tale. 9 tracks / 50 minutes, 8 tracks / 37 minutes. The last track is 13 minutes of reverberated sound and "atmosphere", the result of severe keyboard/sampler overindulgence. If you play this as an 8 track 37 minute album, it isn't half bad; if you have the stamina to listen to all of it... then you get bored a lot less easily than I do.

(article published 17/11/1997)

ALBUMS
2/13/1999	P Schwarz	7.5	Sacramentum - Thy Black Destiny
10/11/1996	B Meloon	8	Sacramentum - Far Away from the Sun