Borknagar Epic
Century Media
2004
1. Future Reminiscence
2. Traveller
3. Origin
4. Sealed Chambers of Electricity
5. The Weight of Wind
6. Resonance
7. Relate
8. Cyclus
9. Circled
10. The Inner Ocean Hypothesis
12. Quintessence
13. The Wonder
Well, its July, and the award for Disappointment of the Year has now been penciled in. A total side-step to the right, and a quick step down the ladder of ingenuity from what was Empiricism, Vintersorg and crew are now just going through the motions. Not that the album is a disaster, but I expect much more from a band that were once near the forefront of creativity. Another way to best describe this change, or lack thereof, is to suggest that where previous BORKNAGAR efforts might have intrigued fans of, say, ARCTURUS, current offerings are now beginning to float dangerously near DIMMU BORGIR-infested open waters. In other words, even the traditional eclectic nature, although still present, is becoming stale. Time to change the recipe me thinks.
Key enablers, however, fall within the ranks of Vintersorg (vocals) and Lars Nedland (keyboards). The vocals are nearly excellent, with Vintersorg doing his absolute best to make up for songs that seem lackluster honestly, some of the riffs could have been written in a day - and Nedland showing off his ivory tinkling skills that put his main band, SOLEFALD, on the map last year with the phenomenal In Harmonia Universali. Of course, there are some great moments to be heard on Epic, but the certain consistency on either Empricism or Quintessence is to be found no longer.
Point worth noting, there are LOTS of clean vocals on this album. There are LOTS of falsettos throughout, and the quieter moments on songs like Sealed Chambers of Electricity or Relate could quite possibly be the gayest thing this side of George Michaels public toilet hole in the wall. Vintersorg even manages to go completely over the top this time with his whoa whoas, aaah aaahs, and Al Pacino-inspired hoo hahs. The way I see it, if youve already got soaring keyboards, do you really need to double them up with soaring mantra-like chants? SOILWORK this is not, lets keep it that way.
Anyway, to summarize, if youve got other BORKNAGAR albums, you dont really need Epic since it doesnt improve on what youve already got. Pretty simple arithmetic really. Lets just say that the progressive tag can now be dropped, and other better albums await your hard-earned cash. After all, as a listener, it is your right to demand absolute perfection, and musicians of this caliber should be delivering that by now.
6/10
Century Media
2004
1. Future Reminiscence
2. Traveller
3. Origin
4. Sealed Chambers of Electricity
5. The Weight of Wind
6. Resonance
7. Relate
8. Cyclus
9. Circled
10. The Inner Ocean Hypothesis
12. Quintessence
13. The Wonder
Well, its July, and the award for Disappointment of the Year has now been penciled in. A total side-step to the right, and a quick step down the ladder of ingenuity from what was Empiricism, Vintersorg and crew are now just going through the motions. Not that the album is a disaster, but I expect much more from a band that were once near the forefront of creativity. Another way to best describe this change, or lack thereof, is to suggest that where previous BORKNAGAR efforts might have intrigued fans of, say, ARCTURUS, current offerings are now beginning to float dangerously near DIMMU BORGIR-infested open waters. In other words, even the traditional eclectic nature, although still present, is becoming stale. Time to change the recipe me thinks.
Key enablers, however, fall within the ranks of Vintersorg (vocals) and Lars Nedland (keyboards). The vocals are nearly excellent, with Vintersorg doing his absolute best to make up for songs that seem lackluster honestly, some of the riffs could have been written in a day - and Nedland showing off his ivory tinkling skills that put his main band, SOLEFALD, on the map last year with the phenomenal In Harmonia Universali. Of course, there are some great moments to be heard on Epic, but the certain consistency on either Empricism or Quintessence is to be found no longer.
Point worth noting, there are LOTS of clean vocals on this album. There are LOTS of falsettos throughout, and the quieter moments on songs like Sealed Chambers of Electricity or Relate could quite possibly be the gayest thing this side of George Michaels public toilet hole in the wall. Vintersorg even manages to go completely over the top this time with his whoa whoas, aaah aaahs, and Al Pacino-inspired hoo hahs. The way I see it, if youve already got soaring keyboards, do you really need to double them up with soaring mantra-like chants? SOILWORK this is not, lets keep it that way.
Anyway, to summarize, if youve got other BORKNAGAR albums, you dont really need Epic since it doesnt improve on what youve already got. Pretty simple arithmetic really. Lets just say that the progressive tag can now be dropped, and other better albums await your hard-earned cash. After all, as a listener, it is your right to demand absolute perfection, and musicians of this caliber should be delivering that by now.
6/10
