CoC : Old Man's Child - Ill-Natured Spiritual Invasion : Review

Old Man's Child - _Ill-Natured Spiritual Invasion_
(Century Media, 1998)
by: Paul Schwarz (7 out of 10)

It feels like only yesterday I was writing my review for _The Pagan Prosperity_, Old Man's Child's last album, and it -was- only just over six months ago that their last full length saw the light of day. What _Ill-Natured Spiritual Invasion_ does not sound like however, is that it has been rushed -- on the contrary, it sounds more calculated and better thought out than its predecessor. OMC have taken a different approach to the music this time around as well: their sound, backed up by the pounding drum work of the justifiably worshipped Gene Hoglan (guesting), now bears much greater resemblance to Dimmu Borgir et al, and there are good and bad points to be made about this change. The band certainly sound better: their guitar lines gallop and classic speed-metal is evidently an influence; their keyboards augment the sound far better than they did before; the screeched vocals blend nicely in the resulting mix; and the drumming is intense in writing as well as performance. The let down is that some of the Dimmu Borgir-isms become a bit too frequent and, more worryingly, a bit too close to the originals. Overall, it isn't a _Reign in Blood_ for the band or the black metal world, but it is a solid, heavy, enjoyable and well played slab of late 90s black metal. If that's what you need, then you'll need _Ill-Natured Spiritual Invasion_.

(article published 8/7/1998)

CHATS
2/8/2003	A McKay	Old Man's Child: Striking Out Down the Defiant Path

ALBUMS
4/10/2005	A McKay	6	Old Man's Child - Vermin
25/5/2000	P Schwarz	7.5	Old Man's Child - Revelation 666: The Curse of Damnation
1/1/1998	P Schwarz	6	Old Man's Child - The Pagan Prosperity
11/10/1996	B Meloon	7	Old Man's Child - Born of the Flickering

GIGS
1/10/1998	M Noll	Einherjer / Old Man's Child / Gorgoroth / Cradle of Filth	Doom Descends Upon Deutschland