Douglas Hernandez | 03/03/2006
(5 out of 5 stars)
"This is beyond greatness. Italy's Fear of Eternity has just released an album with so much power, psychologically involving the emotions and senses while drawing you closer to the dark side. This is slow-paced Black Metal with a discernable production that turns into an impenetrable wall of melancholy. The songs, as the album title implies, are full of sorrow. Both synths and keyboards create ambiences of a world full of sadness and despair. Song titles like "Tormented Heart", "Sad Dreams", "Atrocious Pain", and "That Rainy Day" speak for themselves. Highly recommendable."
Unique but mediocre
Leicester Dedlock | Ames, IA United States | 08/22/2008
(2 out of 5 stars)
"Based upon what I had read about this band, I assumed that they were a black ambient band somewhere along the lines of Burzum. They are not. Rather than expressing the nihilism, ambience, and distress that is typical of black ambient, they express melancholy in a manner than could be considered gothic, although not in a strict sense. In and of itself, that is by no means a bad thing. We already have Burzum and this band does have a very unique sound. However, I was disappointed with the end result.
This is very low-key, synth-drenched, goth-inflected quasi-black metal. They are not black ambient and I would like to label them as "gothic black metal", but that tag conjures up images of Cradle of Filth, and that is not even remotely accurate. Also, any goth would disagree with the gothic label as it appears through the atmosphere, not through any overt musical elements.
My biggest issue with this album is the synths. They are very heavily used and instead of reinforcing the melancholic atmosphere, they sound cheesy and overused and they clearly used a cheap synthesizer (or it was not mixed/mastered well). In a way, the synths make them sound like a non-progressive black metal 80's Rush. The Goblin reference in the product reference was not off-base, but the synthwork is less subtle and less dynamic than one would expect from Goblin themselves, though I don't think strictly pairing Goblin's musical style with metal would be a good thing either. The other musical elements are none too exciting. I can tell that the band is competent, but the overall product feels bare and unfinished. Despite the extensive use of synths, it feels like more ornamentation is needed, and greater care should have been taken in the compositions themselves which are repetitive and lack flavor. They do attempt some dynamics, but the transitions are clumsy. In one sense, it feels like a demo recording with promise, but still a demo recording. In another sense, it feels like an adult contemporary version of black metal. That is, it sounds feeble, unidimensional, and lacking substance. I'm glad that they aren't restricting themselves to black metal standards and aesthetics, but they have not mastered the low-key melancholic sound that they are trying to achieve.
I think that they have a promising sound and that they are unique, but the music needs further development. I don't totally regret my purchase, and I'll keep an eye on them, but I don't fully expect to purchase another album by them. This album is nothing embarrassing, but it lacks musical maturity."
Track Listings (8) - Disc #1