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The Gauntlet: Old Man's Child |
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Old Man's Child Album Review
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Tracklist
1. Enslaved and Condemned
2. The Plague of Sorrow
3. War of Fidelity
4. In Torment's Orbit
5. Lord of Command (Bringer of Hate)
6. The Flames of Deceit
7. Black Marvels of Death
8. Twilight Damnation
9. ...As Evil Descends
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Old Man's Child is a very prominent name in today's black metal scene, led by Galder of Dimmu Borgir fame. On 'Vermin,' he plays all the instruments and handles vocals as well, while Reno Killerich (who is no longer with the band but is currently working with Dimmu Borgir) takes care of the skins. Together the two dish up a hot steaming dish of more or less what you'd expect from a modern Norwegian black metal band. Galder takes a middle-of-the-road approach with most of the elements that can go either way on a black metal release. His vocals are harsh but understandable. The guitars are raw sounding at times but never screeching or abrupt. Most of the songs have a nice melody to them, but none of the tunes will readily stick in your head. Keyboards are used, but aren't overdone. And the production, often the clincher, is of a pretty good quality but far from perfect.
As a result of Galder's rather cautious approach, most of the tracks on 'Vermin' are solid, with a few standouts and a few disappointments. At the top of the 'good' list is the introduction to 'The Flames of Deceit,' where a sharp synth-violin piece teams up with a crushing opening riff to provide an energetic and exciting lead-in to the album's best track. In addition, Galder shows off a bit of diversity on 'Twilight Damnation,' which contains an acoustic introduction, and a feeling of heavy thrash overtones can be felt throughout the man part of the song.
With the good comes the band, however, and there are a few cuts on 'Vermin' that may make you cringe a bit. Most notably among these is 'The Plague of Sorrow,' which is introduced with an annoying static-laden sample. The song then delves into a decent riff/drum combo that is practically ruined by 'atmospheric' keyboards that, frankly, sound a bit out of place. Keyboard atmosphere is obviously a very important part of some types of black metal, but when it sounds extremely forced, like in this instance, it is better left out.
'Vermin' is the type of album that would be a great introduction to black metal for someone who is new to the genre. It contains most of the aspects that will be found in the music of most other black metal bands, and is more accurate than bands like Children of Bodom, for instance, who despite drawing influence from black metal do not fully embody all the necessary qualities. Old Man's Child are also less overdone than Cradle of Filth and more concise than Dimmu Borgir. With all that said, however, an entrenched black metal fan will probably be unimpressed and perhaps a bit bored with 'Vermin.' Only portions of this album are truly done well, and even those that are aren't especially spectacular.
Review by: Andrew Sudano
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