Search - Graveworm :: Utopia

Good but not great 3.5 stars

Xander Xavier Xymox | Frederick Co :( | 04/10/2006

(4 out of 5 stars)

"I became a graveworm fan when someone online recommended scourge of malice. I ordered it at a music shop. When it came I took it out and listened to it. I was so thrilled that I went back in to order a second copy as a gift to my fellow metalhead brother. Whereas scourge of malice was and still is a masterpiece of symphonic black metal, this is good at best. Dont get me wrong you should go out and buy this even if its only for Timeless and which way. Basically this continues where Engraved in Black left off. Great riffs and great vocals but the melody isnt as outstanding as it used to be. It also has less variety in guitar. Dont get me wrong I like some harder metal but the strenth of graveworm is there gothic aptmosphere.

I - The Machine- 7.5 Strong opener. The drums especially caught my attention. Some really good keyboard around 3:00. Mostly a guitar driven song.

(N)utopia 7.2 Another good song. good melody throughout song, some good blastbeats. The problem is that it doesnt have any tempo changes. Once you heard the first half you pretty much have heard all the song has to offer.

Hateful Design 7 Death metal oriented song. Good heavy riffs and plenty of double bass. Pretty much maintains the same tempo throughout song.

Never Enough 8.5 Great riffage and double bass. Midsection has some of graveworms trademark melody and stefan screaches away with his blistering black metal screams. Than it closes with brutal riffs and drums.

Timeless 10 Now this is what I am talking about. Awsome stuff. This song opens with some simple but good keys. Some of best melody on cd is in this song. The song eventually veers into heavier territory but loses none of the beauty. Oddly it is actually a catchy song. Great vocal performance by Stefan.

Which Way 10 Another great song. Dreamy trance like feal. As good as timeless. It would have fit well on scourge of malice.

Deep Inside 8.5 Instrumental. Keys and howling wolves. Also some good strings. Very gothic sounding.

Outside Down 8.9 Good mix of heavy and melody. Some very fast drum parts. Lots of tempo changes wich I like.

McMxcii 9.3 Very similar to outside down. Only it is better. Great closer.

If it wasnt for Timeless and which way I would probably have given this 2.5 stars. Even though they are great they dont have anything on "unhallowed by the infernal one", "demonic Dreams" and "Nocturnal Hyms"."

By the numbers symphonic gothic black metal. Nothing more.

Ben Stubbs | Australia | 05/21/2006

(3 out of 5 stars)

"First of all, what the hell does "(N)Utopia" mean anyway. Is it supposed to be new utopia playing on the term nu-metal? Maybe it's obvious, but I just can't figure it out.



Nonetheless, "(N)Utopia is Graveworm's 5th full length studio album and the band have built up a bit of a following since 2001's "Scourge of Malice". What we have here is symphonic gothic black metal that brings to mind quite a few other bands (Agathodaimon, Cradle of Filth, Ancient) without ever attempting anything new or original. The first time I heard Graveworm (around 4 years ago) I thought they were the biggest Cradle of Filth rip-off I'd ever heard. Both bands have changed there sound a bit over the years so they no longer sound all that much the same. That's not to say that Graveworm have their own sound now. They've just starting letting other well-established acts influence their music. I find it difficult to understand how the members of a band like Graveworm actually get satisfaction out of releasing album after album of unoriginal music but each to their own.



Keyboards still have a large role in Graveworm's music and the vocals still utilize both black and death metal styles, but things are a little more thrashy and metal now. They are still a black metal band in image, but like Agathodaimon, have not stuck completely to the black metal rules and boundaries. Things slow down often and the drummer rarely hits top speed.

I haven't had a lot of good stuff to say have I! Well, I guess it's not terrible. It's quite adequately played and is quite an atmospheric listen, but it just doesn't set my world alight. I find myself mildly enjoying it for the first couple of tracks but boredom sets in soon enough. Then again, Graveworm have a lot of fans, and they will probably find this perfectly sufficient. I just wish they'd try something out of the ordinary cause that's all this is."

Good Melo Death

Turisas | PA, USA | 12/13/2006

(5 out of 5 stars)

"(N)utopia was my first Graveworm album and I was impressed. If you enjoy melo death than this is a band for you. Dont expect face melting solos what you will find here is good melodic riffing. My favorite part of this album is the mixing of the singers voices there is a black metal style and a death metal voice and the complement each other wonderfully."