Review by Benjamin on February 8, 2022.

Another album that has intrigued me this month, even if it does not quite have the overwhelming impact of "The Mist From The Mountains", is Reverence, the second album from Det Eviga Leendet (which translates in to English as The Eternal Smile). This Swedish / American black metal troupe are operating on the fascinating and ever-moving margins of the genre, and although not as avant-garde as (early) Solefald, they tap into the same sort of disquieting quality, through their combination of layers of ghostly static noise with strange and hypnotic guitars employing unconventional chord voicings and note choices. These guitars are frequently set to a grating blast, although this is far from the default setting of what is an inspiringly restless and varied album.

The overtly metal sections of each song recall the abrasive and warped riffing that characterised the Blut Aus Nord sound at the turn of the millennium, as they began to develop their sound from their more orthodox beginnings, but Det Eviga Leendet are equally as compelling when they take their foot off the throttle. They do this to great effect on the excellent 'Visage', where fragile shards of guitar are overwhelmed by the frankly terrifying shrieks of despair contributed by Mare Cognitum's Jacob Buczarski, who clearly knows a good thing when he hears it. Through the final strains of the spectacular 'Yield', which pulls the band a little closer to the kind of mournful and yearning black metal of American bands such as Panopticon, it is clear that Reverence is a difficult, but rewarding experience, which makes no concessions to the comfort of the listener across its six bleak and lengthy songs. Despite this, the quality of the band's music is such that it draws one in, like a light in the dark that mankind trudges gradually towards, only to realise that it is the fire that will incinerate us all, leaving only eternal darkness.

Rating: 8.3/10

Review by Michael on December 15, 2020.

In case of Dreamslain I have a band in front of me of which I have almost no of information about except the promo info and their Facebook page. So, I can say that they come from Norway and have a penchant for epic lyrics centered around Lord of the Rings and other fantasy themes. They also have a preference for extreme Scandinavian metal, classical music and prog rock. Well, that seems to be a very colorful mixture to begin with.

Musically it has to be said that the band has a wide range of influences on Tales of Knights and Distant Worlds, so some things remind me of classic hard rock from the 70s (Uriah Heep, Hawkwind), many things remind me of Finnish metal like Nightwish or Children of Bodom and some passages remind me of old symphonic black metal bands (here Darkwoods My Betrothed came to my mind). But as it is so often, much does not always help much....

The songs sound quite appealing in parts, but I often have the feeling that the band gets a bit lost. So the pieces (especially with the keyboards) seem a bit confused and it is sometimes quite exhausting to follow the pieces attentively. Also the singer sounds sometimes a bit crooked, maybe that's why the memory of Darkwood's my Betrothed... I don't want to say that the compositions are bad, but it's definitely not an easy listening album, but something you should listen to in peace.

Recommended songs are 'The Fall of the Elven Lord', which sounds quite varied and atmospheric, and 'Shadow Warriors', which starts like a cool folk song and develops in the course of one of the harder, almost black metal-heavy song, whereby I'm also reminded of the weird Naked City (if anyone still knows them).

Maybe Dreamslain should remember the motto "less is more" on their next album and not incorporate quite so many influences into their songs. All in all, an acceptable album, which could have had more potential.

Rating: 6.7 out of 10