|
Помню, в первый альбом шведов я вникал долго. И знаете, проверку временем он прошёл на "отлично". В случае со вторым опусом группы писать рецензию хочется почти сразу (три прослушивания). Не знаю даже почему, но данный альбом моментально вызвал у меня исключительно положительные чувства. Что же это за зверь такой, скрывающийся за ярлычком "Progressive Death Metal"? А вот какой: имеется в равных пропорциях мелодик-дэт шведской (ваш К.О.) школы, всяческие навороты, сбивки, изменения темпа, мудрёная работа барабанщика, что выдаёт всю прогрессивность музыки, и бластбиты со скримингом - это у нас от блэка.
Насчёт вокала - представлен на альбоме аж тремя разновидностями. Основной, и наиболее удачный - сочный гроулинг, далее - скриминг, и напоследок - чистый вокал, к чести которого, не опошляющий музыку, как это бывает частенько в последнее время.
Несомненно, надо отметить чрезвычайно разнообразные клавишные - от фоновой подложки до рояля и космических звуков, сразу же напоминающих о DREAM THEATER. Этот инструмент играет важную роль в музыке Pandemonium; не представляется возможным расчленить песни на составляющие и убрать оттуда звучание синтезатора, - музыка не то что поблекнет, а рассыплется на бесссвязные риффы в большинстве песен.
Альбом продолжителен по времени, и самый короткий трек - 5:48 (за исключением аутро), но, уверяю, скучать вы не будете. Всё разнообразие вокалов, клавишных, мелодий применяется почти в каждой песне, не создавая эффекта какой-то музыкальной вакханалии. Браво. Так уметь ведь надо - удержать внимание слушателя на протяжении всего альбома (песни), и при этом знать меру в использовании всего арсенала приёмов.
Скажу напоследок, что альбом, являясь отличной качественной работой, ничего нового по сути не открывает.
P.S. А во втором треке одному мне явно слышится где-то в начале и конце песни CRADLE OF FILTH - "Funeral in Carpathia"? |
|
in the deepest of seas
Buy me a spot in the moonland
and promise you'll go when I'm there
I know you'll be saying what I just won't hear
in vacuum we'll be so sincere
Pray for the sun to enlighten you
knowing what you see is from the past
Eight minutes away from internalization
with the glow that forever seems to last
Projecting our landscape as shadows
as darkness compared to its light
Feeding from rationalization
from concepts making this leading star
ignite
Never will you be lonely
a mind in desperation
will be fuel to the fire in the sky
It warms you, consoles you
constitutes the concepts
that keep you free from guilt and will to die
Keep the flame alive
in ashes of words we are walking to our knees
The bigger the fire, the more it devours
eating all the oxygen
choking its creative force
Mountains building around us
contours of worn out concepts growing tall
The flame's way over our heads
we're standing in the shadows
of the walls we've risen ourselves
Gotta find a way out
deceived by the light
in this platonic cave of words
The flame's gonna die
in the ashes we'll find
the shame of our desires
(Ille amat veret qui sine teste amat)
No, I will not love you
You never should expect my contributions
to a dream we'll both one day wake up from
Knowing that the supersensual
is just unreal
Rush! Take me away to my moonland
where I'll be safe from conceptual lights
Save what I treasured during my stay
I might need a fire one day
Alone with the truth
stripped down to its primitive core
It's so cold outside
the stars are all gone
What's left is the light of my mind
A glow in the dark
shining like love
like joy used to shine one time
Only I know that this one'll go out
I can feel it now
the cold wind in my direction
Once so decisive, now looking back
Silently seized with misgivings of introspection
I hold in my hand
the match of the primus motor
Don't come tonight
find your own moon
and a superlunary fire of your size
2. A Journey Through Her Dusk
Voices within the chambers of darkness
from ancient dimensions
Spreading its spells
to gather the creatures of night
Midwinter silence in the snow-whirling storms
She's prepared for the supper, a taste of the cold
She looks at the mirror, utopia is faced
she laughs at the sight that she sees
The voices have come, to make her impure
to turn her soul to the devil's tool
The fruit of heaven's denial
Paralyzed by the greed
Reborn in a dream, infected with chaos
her soul full of misanthropy
The voices are calling the spirits to come
to show the world tyranny
The gates are opening to another dimension
only a few steps away
Her vagueness is suddenly taking a form
when her wishes are almost complete
Innocence gone, living through a holocaust
in darkness and cold winter grief
Desires and lust, leading all her faith
to dwell in the five-pointed star
Facing the fright, the dimension she chose
was the call of the night
Kissed by the wolf and thrown into torment
she was introduced to horrors
even the demons would fear
She looks outisde her window
Can you feel the smells of angels around you?
A new day is dawning in the dungeon's fog
A tear of silence falling, forgotten and gone
So lonely, so helpless
the child is dancing all the night in pain
Supreme is the darkness
it will never let her be
So senseless, and endless
ravishing the only gleam that she holds dear
The call of the voices will never disappear
Erased is the daylight
in the eyes of the bride
Gone are the moments she cherished
Her choice was a step in the night
Infected is the chalice
that she has to taste, with infinity
Infested by demons
the beauty is bound to decay
The eyes were full of defiance
when it was time to depart
The journey ended in silence
a lifetime away
The voices promised to give her
jewels and gold
Instead a gown of torment
dressed her eternally
Pictures of pain are painted
but noone can see
The colors that show the madness
of this tragedy
Despite the human nightmare
a try to arise
But left in the hands of darkness
it's only a scream in the night
Dark waters, dead roses
there's nothing left to be
It's time to face the god
who forsake thee
Oh, upon the crimson sky she sees
that dreams are not like reality
So cold and full of deception and pain
Illusions starting to make her insane
The face is gone in oblivion
Prepare to sleep with the dead
No faith remains in the fallen one
It's time to take the last step
Mortals are calling the dead
to dance in the storms of midnight
to put a price on thy soul
Withering voices are calling, burning, crying
Silently falling apart
in the eyes of the human addiction
of flesh and endless desires
The beast has taken its form
Human is equal with evil
afflicting its own inner self
Sitting with her thoughts
imagining there is another place
with joyful gratitude
The nightmare will soon begin again
It's time to satisfy the heartless
feed the cold grotesque
Released from its prison
but there's no place to hide
Haunted by the voices
unconcious by the noises
the darkside has shown its might
Remember what they told thee
nauseous little lady
escaping will only bring you
closer to the darkness
and closer to your grave
to the aeons deepest depths
Her breathing has increased
and the last hope has deceased
from the face of her empty soul
Running on the nails
of this twisted fairytale
there is only one end to this night
Searching for a place
where to drop this cold disgrace
to erase those things that are left
Flying without wings
distinguishing the stings
her eyes are closed finally
Only a few steps away...
Her vagueness is suddenly taking a form
when her wish is almost complete
The voices have come to make her impure
to turn her soul to the devil's tool
Reborn in a dream, infected with chaos
her soul full of misanthropy
The voices are calling her spirits
to come, to show the world tyranny
Now when she sits with the answers in heaven mistakes from the past are erased
But the darkness will cover the walls
in our souls, since we're widows
from this tragedy
3. The Nameless Season
Expanding the mind
into regions unknown
sends shivers through the body
and brings the faith down
Blackest travesty of hope
retraces what was once held for true
Abnormal grand delusions
deconstructive in their form
withhold the thought
in a solid cage of ice
Bleak appalling sights
of a world now to depraved
of its own constructive vision
tries to blind
Shadows descend on a misty sea
where the thought was once left to roam free
And passion spired in its wake
What comes to the travelling mind
in the nameless season
that bears no mark?
In the grey and cold abyss of loss
at a destination shunned
Oh, here comes the sun again
eluding the thought at the twilight of lust
its warmth cannot be felt
Born to the tyranny of the passionless at heart
its derisive ways undo the claim
of the soulful will for lust
Crawling through deserted colonnades of darkest grey
the nameless season takes its bitter toll
Warring factions lay to rest
the mind's inherent struggle to collect
the moments that it cherishes
and thoughts of joy and grief
Winding up with a soulless epitaph of belief
These words they mean so little
but the fires of neglect adorn
eyes shining in the darkness
where the thought has lost its spark
Do they propose the troublefree existence of the dead?
Or the unbearable darkness of unbeing?
In the grey and cold abyss of loss
on a path not leading on
the thought is struggling on its own
Oh, here comes the moon to shine
eluding the sense of a warming embrace
its voice cannot be heard
An object of affection can't avoid
the coldest deprivation of its light
Starry skies enact the tragic mind-defect
Horrid scenes appearing as blank
as waters without breeze
Mark the dying flame with aeons of flooding rain
4. Broken Sphere
Now the sordid seasons encompass the lands,
bringing dark despair into all hearts
The forebears have never accepted their fate,
but hung on tight to their dreams instead...
...shattered like broken mirrors!
Reflecting futility
hopeless confusion
ordinary passion won't last an eternity
How long have you followed your dreams?
The trail is getting colder,
and the goal still no closer
Futile searching in vain
hopeless we all become
Shadows play in front of my eyes
I can't see the path that was chosen, that I was to follow,
now what's to become of me?
Despite the precautions of past generations, we're running out of hand
How to avoid possible lamentations
when nothing goes just as you planned?
When the past was present
and the future was dark,
all hoped for a better day
Change would come and change would be
engraved inside our souls and hearts...
...there will be no brighter day!
All will evolve, the world will change
but the failure of one will still live on
Is all then truly hopeless and lost?
A step from moving onwards,
we are barred by illusions
Living inside a sphere
of what we think might be
I must break these chains of delusions off me,
to look up and see that all
is not all it was made out to be
Striking out to break preconceptions
but all cannot always adhere
Messages lost in the rivers of lifetimes
flowing away to somewhere
Iridiscent blue neon lights can't disguise
human displays of broken hope
Dragging the mind through cold waters of time
this illusion will not lose its grip
Now where is the other way?
A shadow of oblivion
in the back of your mind
I must break these chains of delusions off me,
to look up and see that all
is not all it was made out to be
Now I see that I could create a superior reality
But striving and changing and twisting and bending
the world changes only for me
All should consider all possible options,
break stride and think again
Drawing on strength from the will to make different
the situation at hand
Can the future be drawn in another direction
if we try to alter its course?
Or is all predetermined and since long decided
by something that we cannot touch?
In the answer lies questions in multiple layers
and one can still bring it to fall
All will evolve, the world will change
but the failure of one will still live on
5. Autumn Enigma
When everything is falling down
and going backwards – turning chaotic
I feel the whispers of the darkest night
enclosing to me insanity
I feel and see the world getting enthralled
in secrecy, with misery
When the leaves are falling to the ground
The silent enigma of autumn
Cry those thousand tears
cause autumn has arrived
We are heading for the darkest hours in our lives
Whispers are flying like leaves in the air
the storm is soon to come
Looking at the shadow-dance
I feel the pain inside of me
I see the water freezing, reflecting
the moonlight from the sky
Tonight is the night when promises fail
and its failure is the sign of human deception
Cold is the autumn enigma
so wide and precious
but still so unknown
So beautiful and cruel
it never stops to fascinate me
when it screams out my name
Cold is the dark autumn enigma
there is no answer to its might
Can you feel the process of dying?
The sun has disappeared from the crimson sky
Bleakness engraves its picture
in the depths of our souls
Sometimes I wish I could sleep it all away
Walking in an endless silence
where I find myself in gloom
Is this enigmatic season the end of us?
I know there is no way of turning back
We're all trapped in a prison
In the grace of confusion
they've seen the coming of darkness
You know there'll be no brighter day
Forever caught in its claws
The winds are blowing in the night
that doesn't have an end
The key that leads to the world of wonders
is buried somewhere far away
The search is all in vain
it will never be found again
The key that leads to the world of wonders
is buried somewhere far away
The answer lies in the dark autumn enigma
Eternally unknown to man
6. Engender's Palette
(As the last last beams of light fade away from the horizon,
leaving us with nothing but dark and
indistinct figurines from the lantern,
dancing and swirling among us.
Their lifelike shapes, grasping for our sanity
as dim palms fondling our minds.
We sit silent in dread, as a soughing wave of voices
shed the names of the fallen in the final battle of........)
Oh, the tale of a graven misery
The tale which forever will haunt us
But in a story told, a truth will unfold
a plague upon the world is foretold
As our light burns out
the terrifying shapes take form
come to life, to liquidate us all
We try to flee the scene, escape by any means
Tumult breaks out, we're trapped, we're stuck
we find ourselves chained to a wall
Our lives are at stake, the chains will not break
though the power of a sane mind, focusing
should be enough to make this horror disappear
the images are still in our heads
bloodshed, terror, frightening horror
howling beasts and tragic sorrow
A key, masked as a tale
Once told it brings the end one step closer
Relapse of what we have seen
evil so pure and so clean
damnation awaits the one
who shall back down and not turn the key
A stinging beam of light flashes before our eyes
We tumble hard to the ground
The visions still ablaze though still undefined
We run across the fields but something's holding us back
A creature of the past will stir up these serene lands
this abomination's reign of chaos will
once be restored again
Time is slipping away from our hands
as evil prevails there's nothing more
there's nothing left to save.
Nothing left to save!
Oh, cruel fate has come
agonizing pain, suffering, will end us all
Mankind's fall
But the tale, fallen into oblivion
has a passage to undo these creatures
Reading it converse, would lift this curse
Sight to the blind, speech to the mute, the book must be found
the search to prevent an apocalypse has begun.
Our bravest were sent to the origin from which
the sacred words were first spoken
Retrieving these would restore harmony and order to our lands
But the things they saw on their path were without a doubt
the most vile and atrocious things any man has ever seen before
The longer from home they came
the more irascible became their surroundings
Til the search came to its final end...
The fields of death were left behind
Those still alive retrieved
what they were there to find
The end of our search has just begun
The sweetest voice of benevolence
was heard clearer by every read word
The deformed landscapes were slowly
rebuilt by the succors
These creature's vain reign, trespassing our domain
One by one, atropys as daylight comes
Lurking, distorting, we are now free from this misery
The powers engraved tore us apart
turning man on each other
A battle we can not win, a battle we can not lose
The enchanting words of pagan songs blessing this tale
A torrent of life, shoals of souls
restoring our world for the future
The destruction we have seen, we wean from filth to clean
as buried alive we struggle for our minds to grow sane
7. Reflecting Mirrors
Reflecting mirrors
bound to show our true inner selves
as empty as they can ever be
The seasons have changed
into one big thunder storm
that plows through the former gloryful world
The lid has been sealed
this ensphered world will perish beyond the light
Come, spectate, the world in disorder
can you feel the wrath of a million years?
Eradicate the sins of man
just as man destroyed his own land
The winds have changed and a new hymn is sung
the spectra shimmer in no colors but one
The dawn is gone, we're trapped in the night
fearing our blinded sight
Enraged are the seas, throwing wave after wave
The sky is gorging the air we crave
The mighty disasters walking hand in hand
We feel so small, yet so grand
Watch, observe, the chaos at hand
Can a man made idea play the opponent of man?
Mattoids of ours, the last living hope
Our feeble minds cannot withstand this blow
The anthem of fierce diapason
infringing with scorn on our souls
The barrier to our sanctuary has been broken
Inferno roams til there is no more
Dashes to lashes and lust to cost
The sins are kept safe within a solid crust
Only purgatory's flame might pierce its hollow shell
We'll all find out when we dwell with the condemned
Tears of a blackened world subside the lust and desires
Shiver as the quaking earth spews dust when we
embrace the night sky
that glitters so calm like innocent virgin eyes
Then congeal like eyes
by their ever watchful eyes
A six star constellation
A deceitful presence that tints the sky
The forthcoming revelation speaks the words, we must comply
Cries of despair, imprisoned by the sins we share
Cries, so pitiful compared to the reaper's roar
Cries of despair, imprisoned by the sins we share
Judgement has befallen
Like in a scenery with light
we still crawl back into the night
Like in a scenery with night
we're still searching for the light
When all is gone and no more is to reap
the world will fall into a sleep so deep
A slumber with a depth that no man can climb
Dreaming of nighttime
8. Postludium
(инструментал)