Review by Michael on April 22, 2021.

Czech band Sněť will release their debut album Mokvání V Okovech on May 14th via Blood Harvest. Since I don't speak Czech, I can only judge from the music that the album is not about love, flowers or cupcakes. Mokvání V Okovech is a pretty vicious death-doom bastard that mills through the listener's auditory canals in stretches of groovy mid-tempo parts and crawling rhythm passages. The sawing guitars, the wonderfully rumbling drums and the singer, who rattles his soul out of his body and sounds as if he had to leave this life immediately, let a wonderfully musty and morbid mood arise. Maybe it's time for spring cleaning in my dark, damp cave.

Particularly standout songs include 'Demon' (I can understand Czech after all!!!), which is a pretty fast song, but also has some cool mid-tempo elements and invites you to bang along. 'Folivor' is a somewhat slower track that waltzes through the speakers for just under 3 minutes and features some pretty vicious riffing and of course the pretty sick vocals. 'Sarkofag' (another word I understand!!!) starts with an almost thrash-esque opening riff, which soon turns into pretty classic death metal riffing and delivers very varied breaks. 'Vesmírná Saliva' is a kick-ass last song, which reminds me of Bolt Thrower when the tempo is slowed down, but otherwise also knows how to convince.

In my humble opinion, the band has managed to release a solid and convincing debut, especially because of the absolutely sick vocals. Apart from that, they sound very cool in Czech (with Master's Hammer, for example, it always sounds a bit strange, even if they also like...). If you like bands that play absolutely sick death metal (I'll mention Funebrarum, Funebre, Demigod, Incantation...) in particular, you should check out Sněť at least once. Apart from the music, the band also has a cool cover for their debut, I don't even have to mention the totally cool logo!

Rating: 9.3 out of 10

Review by Allan on April 2, 2002.

God damn I hate reviewing Symphony X albums. It’s quite a difficult feat for me, honestly. But damnit, they deserve to be reviewed. Their power/progressive mixture and uniqueness is great. They combine freakin’ awesome musicianship without sacrificing great song writing, and “Divine Wings of Tragedy” is arguably the bands defining moment.

For the unacquainted, Symphony X plays a unique brand of progressive power and thrash. Their music goes unparalleled by their competition, particularly Dream Theater. These two bands are in fact very similar. The difference, you ask? Symphony X can actually compose the structure of a song well. While I say they are in fact very similar, at the same time they are quite different. First off, the keyboards are a bit different. Symphony X keyboardist Michael Pinnella definitely does a bit more interacting with the guitars, shredding, and also does a lot more for the atmosphere of the record. Symphony X’s music is also very classical influenced, while still sticking to metal. To sum it up, Symphony X play well structured, classical influenced metal with a tinge of theatrics to it.

There really is no weak link in this band. The guitars, the vocals, the bass, the drums, everything is incredible. Let me say, vocalist Russell Allen is phenomenal. He has a nice range, his vocals seem very natural, and he isn’t annoying. He’s got a nice voice and doesn’t try to steal the show, something of which vocalists of progressive music really shouldn’t do. He knows his place in the band, and sticks within his boundaries. The guitars are amazing. Excellent riffs, and the guitarist isn’t masturbatory. Michael Romeo has a great sense of melody and knows what to play, and when to play it. The rhythm section usually keeps the instrumental chaos together, but at times is still able to take the spotlight. Bassist Mike LePond is awesome, and is not buried in the mix. To do that would be a shame, for he’s awesome and really contributes to the songs. Last, but not least, keyboardist Michael Pinnella is as equally talented as his band mates, and does an excellent job of showing of his talent when it’s called for, but always strengthening the band, particularly the atmosphere. Basically, the band has no weaknesses talent-wise, and that includes both technical ability and song writing ability.

The album opens with ‘Of Sins and Shadows’, a song with a quite thrashy rhythm, and very melodic leads, also showcasing Russell Allen’s excellent vocal harmonies. Following that song is ‘Sea of Lies’, which definitely gives the bass a lot of room for some awesome breaks. ‘Out Of The Ashes’ starts great and ends great. The intro has a great interplay between the keyboardist and bassist. It’s a shining moment of the album, and almost comes across as popish, but is very honest. ‘The Accolade’ starts off with a great pastoral clean guitar, and a laid back atmosphere. It’s on this track where Pinnella really shines. ‘Pharoah’ has a monumental chorus and is very catchy and memorable. The next track, ‘The Eyes of Medusa’ has a lot of great keyboard atmosphere on it. It also has some very heavy guitar lines, tossing in some interesting pinch harmonics to make it more interesting. ‘The Witching Hour’ is very classically influenced, with a great chorus. The title track is twenty minutes of pure Symphony X. It’s very epic and classical, with great features from everyone in the band. It kicks ass almost the entire way through, and is a great song. The albums closes with ‘Candlelight Fantasia’, a track that is somewhat a ballad. It’s very melancholic, and an excellent way to end.

Like many people, if you were introduced to the band with their 2000 release, “V”, don’t think that that record is the only highlight of the band. “The Divine Wings of Tragedy” basically slapped every progressive metal fan in the face and told them to wake up and listen to what the band had to say.

Bottom Line: “The Divine Wings of Tragedy” is a progressive metal masterpiece that needs to be experienced by all!

Categorical Rating Breakdown

Originality: 7
Musicianship: 9
Atmosphere: 9
Production: 8
Overall: 8

Rating: 8.2 out of 10