It seems kind of funny to me, but even in my “headbanger” period
in high school, I never really got into the whole death metal
scene. Only when I discovered grindcore while in college did I find
any excitement in this genre, and even that tended to wear off very
quickly. Now that I’ve got this gig, I honestly think I’ve listened
to more death metal than I did throughout high school and college
combined.
The latest of these platters to cross my way,
IX Equilibrium from Emperor, is an interesting change in
that I swear I’m hearing keyboards (though I don’t see any credit
for these on the promotional CD jacket). The richer sound of the
band helps to separate it from the rest of the gloom-and-doom
rockers of the genre, but in the end, it almost seems like too much
to take in one sitting.
The band – vocalist/bassist Ihsahn, guitarist Samoth and drummer
Trym – are obviously skilled at their craft, and I won’t deny that
their musicianship is incredible. Especially impressive to me is
the drum work of Trym, who pounds out beats faster and for a longer
period of time than I thought was humanly possible.
And while Ihsahn breaks the traditional stereotype of the death
metal vocalist (I don’t think I heard a single grunt or growl on
this whole disc), it often is very difficult to understand just
what he is saying. Then again, with song titles like “Curse You All
Men” and “The Warriors Of Modern Death,” I don’t think I really
want to know.
The intensity level of
IX Equilibrium is set on “overkill” throughout the disc,
barely giving the listener time to breathe, much less let their
neck stop snapping back and forth. Tracks like “Curse You All Men”
and “Decrystallizing Reason” are pleasant enough (at least pleasant
for those who like the death metal genre – I doubt any John Denver
fans would be picking this one up for kicks), but I found it
incredibly difficult to get through more than three songs without
needing a break. I don’t know if this is because I’ve never really
followed the genre that closely or if
IX Equilibrium is just too intense for its own good.
One thing I found intriguing was the intro to “The Warriors Of
Modern Death,” which used a tolling bell that sounded incredibly
similar to the one used on Metallica’s “For Whom The Bell Tolls”.
Not that this song has much in common with the Metallica track
except for that – but don’t be surprised if you find yourself
saying, “I’ve heard that before somewhere” after hearing some of
the riffs that Samoth plays in his solo.
IX Equilibrium is an intense album that might be too much to
take for even the devout death metaller. It’s still very much worth
checking out, but it might not be a bad idea to pace yourself.
