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| #FOR FANS OF: Black/Doom/Folk |
The German duo Empyrium is without any doubt one of the most personal and exquisite projects out there. The project, founded in 1994 in Bavaria (Germany), was from its early inception already a quite unique creature. Its personal and remarkably tasteful combination of neofolk influences and doom metal with epic touches, shocked the scene with it almost unbeatable inspiration and quality. Early works like 'A Wintersunset' and especially its sophomore masterpiece 'Songs of Moors & Misty Field', made this band a truly respected project. In this second opus the mixture of an intensely melancholic doom beauty and the folk influences was nearly perfect. Vocally, the band was also original with the combination of extreme vocals with baritone-esque voices, which gave an even stronger solemn and melancholic touch to its music. Afterwards, the band left behind the metal influences and focused sorely on folk and neo-folk sounds, which was a pity from a metalhead perspective, although the music continued to be very personal and excellent. With the band’s split-up, the classic members focused their efforts on new projects, though thankfully they returned some years ago with a slightly more modern yet tasteful opus 'The Turn of the Tides'. This effort didn´t receive a so warm welcome, although it pleased the fans in reasonable way.
Still, many fans deeply missed the early works of Empyrium and there was a cautious excitement when the band announced a new album entitled 'Über den Sternen', that was supposed to bring to black many influences from the classic works. This "back to the roots" is usually no more than a marketing strategy, but thankfully this hasn't be the case with Empyrium. I don´t imply that this is a replica of the early albums, but the influences are strong and completely present. A more modern touch in the production, already seen in the previous work, is still there, but as previously announced by the label, the doom metal and folk influences are back in a way we haven´t seen for a long time, and also the extreme vocals, largely missed by many metalheads. 'Über den Sternen' obviously tries to mix the most known two sides of Empyrium´s coin, the metal influences and the folk/neo-folk ones and they successfully do it. If I could complain about something from this album, it would be the following two aspects. Firstly, that the central part seems to be too focused on the softest and more folky influences, unbalancing the final result of the album. Secondly, maybe I had expected more shrieks based on my early impression from the first self-titled single. In any case, this is a magnificent album with many great tracks. The initial part is almost faultless with two compositions that bring us the best of their early works. The album opener "The Three Flames Sapphire", that has been presented with a beautiful video, is a perfect blend of the calmer and folk influenced side and the most metal one. The song evolves from its more folkie and melancholic start to a final heavier section as a delicate piece with a excellently executed ‘in crescendo’, just to end acoustically. The magnificent clean vocals with this baritone style and the undoubtedly nice flute are 100% Empyrium, and this means quality and style. The following track "A Lucid Tower Beckons on the Hills Afar" is a more metal oriented song, bringing back the best of Empyrium’s second and legendary album. The combination of extreme vocals, baritone voices and background vocals, alongside the always exquisite melodies, is a pleasure for the ears. The guitar lines vary from metal riffs to acoustic tones with elegance and naturalness as it happens with the intensity of the music. Doom metal and folkish music embrace together in a unique way. The central part of the albums focuses, as said before, much more on the folk side and though it does it with indubitable quality. The contrast with the rest of the album makes me feel think that another harder composition, would have been more than welcome between the purely calm songs like "Moonrise" and "The Archer". Its not a big deal, but I personally think that this would improve the overall impression and result of this album. The problem is not the neo-folk influenced tracks, but the impression that they are wrongly placed as they follow a song like "The Oaken Throne", which is still quite tranquil. The album recovers its initial momentum with the beautiful "The Wild Swans", once again the sophomore album’s greatness is back with an extraordinary track, that mixes with success the fury and the calm, the strength and the delicacy in one single composition. The album ends with the aforementioned self-titled song, that is undoubtedly a great way to end the album on a high. The final song summarizes all the trademark influences that have made Empyrium a so beloved and unique band. Pure elegance and beauty.
In conclusion, 'Über den Sternen' is an excellent work by Empyrium and aside minor complains from me side, this is a brilliant album. 'Über den Sternen' will make happy all Empyrium fans around the globe and should be a mandatory listen to all who like music made with taste. (Alain González Artola)
Still, many fans deeply missed the early works of Empyrium and there was a cautious excitement when the band announced a new album entitled 'Über den Sternen', that was supposed to bring to black many influences from the classic works. This "back to the roots" is usually no more than a marketing strategy, but thankfully this hasn't be the case with Empyrium. I don´t imply that this is a replica of the early albums, but the influences are strong and completely present. A more modern touch in the production, already seen in the previous work, is still there, but as previously announced by the label, the doom metal and folk influences are back in a way we haven´t seen for a long time, and also the extreme vocals, largely missed by many metalheads. 'Über den Sternen' obviously tries to mix the most known two sides of Empyrium´s coin, the metal influences and the folk/neo-folk ones and they successfully do it. If I could complain about something from this album, it would be the following two aspects. Firstly, that the central part seems to be too focused on the softest and more folky influences, unbalancing the final result of the album. Secondly, maybe I had expected more shrieks based on my early impression from the first self-titled single. In any case, this is a magnificent album with many great tracks. The initial part is almost faultless with two compositions that bring us the best of their early works. The album opener "The Three Flames Sapphire", that has been presented with a beautiful video, is a perfect blend of the calmer and folk influenced side and the most metal one. The song evolves from its more folkie and melancholic start to a final heavier section as a delicate piece with a excellently executed ‘in crescendo’, just to end acoustically. The magnificent clean vocals with this baritone style and the undoubtedly nice flute are 100% Empyrium, and this means quality and style. The following track "A Lucid Tower Beckons on the Hills Afar" is a more metal oriented song, bringing back the best of Empyrium’s second and legendary album. The combination of extreme vocals, baritone voices and background vocals, alongside the always exquisite melodies, is a pleasure for the ears. The guitar lines vary from metal riffs to acoustic tones with elegance and naturalness as it happens with the intensity of the music. Doom metal and folkish music embrace together in a unique way. The central part of the albums focuses, as said before, much more on the folk side and though it does it with indubitable quality. The contrast with the rest of the album makes me feel think that another harder composition, would have been more than welcome between the purely calm songs like "Moonrise" and "The Archer". Its not a big deal, but I personally think that this would improve the overall impression and result of this album. The problem is not the neo-folk influenced tracks, but the impression that they are wrongly placed as they follow a song like "The Oaken Throne", which is still quite tranquil. The album recovers its initial momentum with the beautiful "The Wild Swans", once again the sophomore album’s greatness is back with an extraordinary track, that mixes with success the fury and the calm, the strength and the delicacy in one single composition. The album ends with the aforementioned self-titled song, that is undoubtedly a great way to end the album on a high. The final song summarizes all the trademark influences that have made Empyrium a so beloved and unique band. Pure elegance and beauty.
In conclusion, 'Über den Sternen' is an excellent work by Empyrium and aside minor complains from me side, this is a brilliant album. 'Über den Sternen' will make happy all Empyrium fans around the globe and should be a mandatory listen to all who like music made with taste. (Alain González Artola)
(Prophecy Productions - 2021)
Score: 85
https://empyrium.bandcamp.com/album/ber-den-sternen
Score: 85
https://empyrium.bandcamp.com/album/ber-den-sternen