Review by Tomek on December 20, 2014.

It has been awhile since the last time I got excited about a band that plays melodic death metal. I’ve heard latest releases from In Flames, Soilwork or Dark Tranquillity and these are solid and reputable firms, but if it comes to anything new I wouldn’t be able to give you any names. To be honest with you, I wasn’t looking for anything new, but then Bloodshot Dawn fell in my lap accidentally on purpose - and it was a very pleasant discovery for me. It also reminded me about my affection towards melodic death and how much I enjoy listening to the genre. Just then I got Sweden’s Faithful Darkness delivered to me to be checked out and evaluated. Coincidence? Maybe, but now let’s get to it.

Faithful Darkness is from Sweden and Archgod is their third release, so they are not a new band by any means. After listening to the album last couple of days I have to say that this is how I like to take my melodic death metal. Promo sheet qualifies them as melodic death/thrash metal but no matter how you’re gonna pin it, this is one monster of an album. I cannot get enough of melodies and themes created by those guys. It seems that every song tries to top the previous one with something distinctive and diverse when just guitar riffs bring so much melody by themselves that it’s almost overwhelming. If that wasn’t enough those guys added some well done soloing, some catchy samples, some keyboards here and there, piano and who knows what else to keep things interesting. Got to mention drums here too because we don’t have some generic rhythm keeping guy here. Joakim has very many ideas and he is not shying away from playing them all to us. It is a pleasure to listen to him go nuts in almost every song and you can only imagine the energy level that guy adds to the live shows of the band. The songs change from aggressive and pummeling to soft and snuggly in an instant, and on top of that a very juicy guitar sound that I cannot get enough of flows nicely out of the speakers. It would be enough to keep going for some bands probably, but over here all that goodness is supported by fat thumping of the bass and vocals ranging from deep growl to some nicely done clean singing. And since we are on the subject of singing, this one has lots of catchy choruses if growling in the shower is your thing.

I like Faithful Darkness and I admit here willingly that Archgod has been listened to by me many, many times in the last couple of days. I cannot find anything that I don’t like about this record and it brings a huge pleasure grin on to my face. Faithful Darkness has done me right, check’em out.

Rating: 8 out of 10

Review by Tomek on December 20, 2014.

It has been awhile since the last time I got excited about a band that plays melodic death metal. I’ve heard latest releases from In Flames, Soilwork or Dark Tranquillity and these are solid and reputable firms, but if it comes to anything new I wouldn’t be able to give you any names. To be honest with you, I wasn’t looking for anything new, but then Bloodshot Dawn fell in my lap accidentally on purpose - and it was a very pleasant discovery for me. It also reminded me about my affection towards melodic death and how much I enjoy listening to the genre. Just then I got Sweden’s Faithful Darkness delivered to me to be checked out and evaluated. Coincidence? Maybe, but now let’s get to it.

Faithful Darkness is from Sweden and Archgod is their third release, so they are not a new band by any means. After listening to the album last couple of days I have to say that this is how I like to take my melodic death metal. Promo sheet qualifies them as melodic death/thrash metal but no matter how you’re gonna pin it, this is one monster of an album. I cannot get enough of melodies and themes created by those guys. It seems that every song tries to top the previous one with something distinctive and diverse when just guitar riffs bring so much melody by themselves that it’s almost overwhelming. If that wasn’t enough those guys added some well done soloing, some catchy samples, some keyboards here and there, piano and who knows what else to keep things interesting. Got to mention drums here too because we don’t have some generic rhythm keeping guy here. Joakim has very many ideas and he is not shying away from playing them all to us. It is a pleasure to listen to him go nuts in almost every song and you can only imagine the energy level that guy adds to the live shows of the band. The songs change from aggressive and pummeling to soft and snuggly in an instant, and on top of that a very juicy guitar sound that I cannot get enough of flows nicely out of the speakers. It would be enough to keep going for some bands probably, but over here all that goodness is supported by fat thumping of the bass and vocals ranging from deep growl to some nicely done clean singing. And since we are on the subject of singing, this one has lots of catchy choruses if growling in the shower is your thing.

I like Faithful Darkness and I admit here willingly that Archgod has been listened to by me many, many times in the last couple of days. I cannot find anything that I don’t like about this record and it brings a huge pleasure grin on to my face. Faithful Darkness has done me right, check’em out.

Rating: 8 out of 10

Review by Alex on July 15, 2020.

Draped in keyboard synth and crawling from whichever cursed tomb the late 80s failed at thoroughly burying, Herxheim is unshackled for an Incised Arrival. Black doom metal with an attitude resembling that of black and roll, however under the hex of bands the likes of Mortuary Drape and even Faustcoven, Herxheim mounts the ladder in descent to the earliest echoes of dungeons primitivism in black metal. Draining the nectar of the era and directly pouring it into the veins of an entity emerging from the cinders of the experimental Howls of Ebb, Incised Arrival demonstrates a precision and fluency matched only by some of the genre’s greats. Cutting deep with razor sharp guitars, redolent synth, minacious vocals and an archaic drum and bass combination, Incised Arrival casts spells of revival into the old fashioned, yet treasured era of the craft.

There was a time when keyboards and black metal evoked feelings of sheer loathe among the 'trve' and 'kvlt' but would soon come to be a thing of welcome with bands like Emperor and Burzum incorporating the forbidden foreign elements in their music to remarkable success. The prototype has been revisited many times and has transcended black metal to now spanning across all sub-genres of metal. Herxheim, heads into the murkiness full throttle with their early 1st wave of black metal primitivism that'd soon be corrupted by the sounds of alarming ambient advancements.

As though being encaged in one's own thoughts of doom, the music here sort of constructs a wall around the listener by means of its groovy approach. Take for instance 'Lesson Crescent' and 'Branded by Pentagram', both of which are strikingly different in pacing but adhere to a groovy flow mimicking black/doom/rock. It's through this the music is able to take full effect and reel the listener in. The synth in both these tracks utilize slower sections to broaden the effect that transfer-to and build up songs down the order.

I admire the way in which the synth also lays dormant or better, possum, for some time, like a snake with its mouth open waiting for prey to enter unsuspectingly. 'Lesson Crescent' and 'Chateaux Delirium' do this well, oftentimes giving the listener a feeling of uncertainty before striking at the very last moment with deep piercing synth passages almost sleep inducing. Amidst that thrashing black metal attack, you feel as though being held captive until your number is suddenly up for torture or to walk the halls of horror.

I found the production to be considerate and discreet enough to allow the synth to supplement and at times even command the music in so attiring the album with a genuine doom metal feeling. Some samples of forebode, eroticism and lament are also added, giving songs like 'Wanton of Idols' and 'Chateau Delirium' an erected sense of bleakness conspiring with the anguished vocals.

The music on Incised Arrival does not attempt to push the boundary of the subgenre in any way, instead play conservatively to an already established order. It seems comfortable within its own confines and is competent at creating something worthwhile with the standard components of black/doom metal tapestry. A must have for those interest in the slower, darker workings of the genre.

Rating: 8 out of 10