Review by Jack on October 24, 2001.

Borknagar with “Empiricism” have moved away from their ‘epic metal’ roots in “Borknagar” and “The Olden Domain”. This fifth outing has Borknagar taking the helm in a progressive almost retro metal experience, one that has to be listened to fully to appreciate what “Empiricism” is all about.

Borknagar I always thought had a problem with vocalists, first Garm (or Trickster G. or whatever) and then Simen Hestenes (ICS Vortex) joined up with Borknagar and then promptly left after two albums. It seemed this band would never be able to hold down a vocalist for more than two albums. The interesting element in this is whether the absence of a permanent vocalist is a good or bad thing.

Garm was perfect for “Borknagar” and “The Olden Domain”. These were essentially two straight-out black metal albums with clean and operatic vocals to splice and spice things up a little. Perfect for their time and perfect with Garm.

Simen Hestenes joined a slightly subdued Borknagar for “The Archaic Course” and “Quintessence”, his sporadic vocal styles and diversity helped elevate Borknagar to a peak beyond other black metal bands. This is something Garm could not have done. ICS Vortex was the perfect man for the job on “The Archaic Course” and “Quintessence”.

“Empiricism”; the fifth chapter. Vintersorg’s chapter. A chapter that neither Garm nor Vortex could achieve with the success that Vintersorg has. Borknagar have changed and progressed beyond what the two ex-vocalists could possibly immerse themselves in. Whilst not saying that it is beyond their capabilities to handle, I don't believe Vortex or Garm could assimilate themselves into the new Borknagar to the extent that Vintersorg has embraced the concept of Borknagar circa 2001. Vintersorg has embraced emotionally, talent-wise and has the rawness about him to make “Empiricism” succeed on all fronts. Never before has a vocalist sounded so diverse and euphoric.

So what is Borknagar circa 2001? A hard question to answer. Borknagar has let go of the little black metal elements that held them back in “Quintessence” and become an entity that will not let themselves be restricted by labels or genres that we like to tag them with. Lars the keyboard dude is awesome... and I think if The Doors were still around he would be the man to knock their keyboard man from his job. Borknagar has an even more distinctive sound thanks to his synthesizer work. Oystein G. Brun, Jens F. Ryland and Tyr play their guitars so damn well and they flow so harmoniously together that it is almost a crime to have all these six guys in a band together. Along with drum wizard Asgeir Mickelson Borknagar should be outlawed for their creativity and proficiency.

The only mishap I have with “Empiricism” is that Vintersorg’s vocals are mixed too low in some instances, an example being ‘The Genuine Pulse’. Apart from that this is the release of the year by an absolute mile. My favourite album and has exceeded my expectations as I hoped Borknagar would.

Bottom Line: Originally I was skeptical with Vintersorg the new vocalist... but how I was proven wrong! The Borknagar team get better and better with time. “Empiricism” is the finest album out there this year.

Rating: 10 out of 10

Review by Felix on February 20, 2023.

Admittedly, I am a metal purist who does not appreciate highly the mixing of different metal styles. There is, however, an exception. I am talking of black thrash metal that gets my pulse racing. Of course only when it is done well. Cruel Force demonstrate this mixture on their second album in a very strong way. The riffs tend to thrash although some of them seem to be inspired by Bathory or Celtic Frost. The raw vocals also contribute to a dark atmosphere while the production shows its loyalty to the underground, because it is characterized by an aggressive and brute guitar sound, which is supported by powerful drums. Although the drumming does not deliver very exciting technical features, it plays its full part to vary cleverly the tempo during the album. These tempo changes emphasize the black metal affinity, because you will hardly find a song like the title track on a classical thrash album of the eighties. Due to its mid-paced rhythm, it has a hymnal approach that is held up by the band during the entire seven and a half minutes. Stoically, it marches onwards and can be understood as the soundtrack to the dark procession that is shown on the front cover. The final song on the album follows the same rhythmic approach. Contrariwise, "Black Oath of Death" also starts slowly, but it speeds up at the end.

Let me now turn to the up-tempo-numbers in general. They are characterized by an excellent guitar work that creates an unholy mood as well as a huge number of razor-sharp riffs. All up-tempo-tunes impress with their energizing high speed dynamic as a result of the outstanding songwriting and it is important to note that Cruel Force do not use just one composition formula. While the crushing "Black Witch of Doom", for instance, is exclusively focused on high velocity, "Obscure Evil" features fascinating breaks and tempo changes without losing just one percent of its strength. Especially this tune with its unbridled power and its compositional sophistication shows the whole spectrum of the band´s skills. Tracks like "Infernal Winds" or "Chants of Mayhem" are also driven by brilliant riffs and certainly no less exciting. Therefore, one might say that Cruel Force are mastering their genre in all its variations. Due to this fact, the album is far away from getting monotonous - also during its rare slightly weaker moments.

The elaborately designed vinyl edition delivers an additional highlight. Let me assure you that I am not referring to the poster, the separately attached lyrics sheet or the picture card of the band, although all these things do not look so bad. I believe instead that Cruel Force´s cover version of Bathory´s "The Return...", published only on vinyl, has been succeeded superbly. While keeping the original somber atmosphere of this classic, the Germans know very well how to individualize the song by playing it in a more energized way. This is mainly achieved by a very precise drum intro and the howling guitars at the end. And of course, I do not want to denounce the great early works of Quorthon, but I believe it is a common understanding that the production of his second album left huge room for improvement and Cruel Force just knew exactly how to take advantage of that. Consequently, the group convinces in all relevant aspects with the result that this output represents a high increase after the solid debut. I am therefore very pleased that I can highly recommend this phenomenal full-length to all maniacs who enjoy black thrash metal in general. Only true purists should stay away from it.

Rating: 9.2 out of 10