Search - Carpathian Forest :: Black Shining Leather

Brutal Black Metal

01/30/2000

(4 out of 5 stars)

"This is a raw black metal feast at it's finest. Perfect for a cold/dark/rainy night. It's a shame this band does not receive much press cause they deserve it. In the vein of Dark Throne, but with a catchy type of vibe that makes the songs stick, get it."

Another good CF album.

Amy | outer space | 05/09/2008

(5 out of 5 stars)

"The title track starts off with a minute or so of moaning before the song properly starts. Carpathian Forest does a lot of things I usually can't stand in Black Metal: they have keyboards, weird ambient stuff, and often ridiculous, over the top lyrics. And I love them for it. As I see it, the keyboards here are used perfectly: they add to the song without being overpowering; you can often forget they are there.



"Death Triumphant" has a very nice chugging guitar intro and a very majestic feel to it. "Sadomasochistic" takes things more into Black and Roll with a very simplistic yet catchy guitar riff and has a slower midsection with more keyboards. On one hand, I can understand how people could dislike such things and be unable to take CF seriously (and there is something hilarious about a little dude like Nattefrost in corpsepaint screaming "Kneel before me and shine my shoes!"), but I think it illustrates why Carpathian Forest are great. They have their own sound and image and the songwriting is consistently good.



"Lupus" is one that I skip sometimes; it's an ambient track with some speaking over it. I don't dislike it; it's jsut that it could just about put me to sleep. "Lunar Nights" is another track with a long intro in which not a lot happens, but sitting through it pays off in the end.



And just when I was about to say there is not a weak track on here (I did say I skip "Lupus" sometimes, but not that I hate it), I remembered "A Forest." I can't stand The Cure, and this is too much like the original. I'm sure it's been a long time since I've heard the original, since I can't stand The Cure I refuse to hunt it down and listen to it just to compare the two. I would not know that I was listening to Carpathian Forest if it weren't for the occasional scream. People who don't hate the original may be able to stomach this, but I can't. Thankfully it's the last song and you can just forget it's there.



But overall, I think this is a very good CD. It took me a few listens to get into but there's not many bad things I can say about this album. Some tracks are better than others but none of feels like filler material. There are other Carpathian Forest albums that I feel have better material overall, but this is still good stuff."

Let it shine...\m/

progpatron01 | mn | 02/13/2004

(4 out of 5 stars)

"Ever sence my friend introduced me to Carpathian Forest via there 'Defending the throne of evil' album, I just cant stop listening to then entrasing arrangments of classic black metal, with a twist of progressive and orchestral elements (but these are not overdone). This band is bringing much progression and growth to todays 'real' black metal genre. So if your looking for the most exiting thing in black metal today, look no further than carpathian forest!, this is a great album worth your time. \m/"