Review by Adam M on November 19, 2010.

One can sense the progressive ideas and unique thoughts flow through your veins here. The music here is still relatively controlled for a left field experience, however and tries to add an emotional impact to the proceedings. There’s even a folk like presence to be had here. The band recall outfits like Borknagar and Vintersorg, for example. There are some moments where the album is quite enthralling, but also a couple where it bogs down a little bit. I hope the band can make things more consistent in the future because they have a solid palette to work from.

Really the album starts out in a thrilling enough fashion, but it sizzles out towards the end where the work wanders into meandering territories that aren’t always consistently compelling as the first six tracks are. It seems to have a nice consistent mix of Avant-Garde for a little while and eventually give over to unnecessary indulgences that leave something to be desired. A highlight is the cheerful opening song 'Time Master'. Based on the strength of the earlier portions of the disc, the material is elevated from being mediocre to very good. When the band is hitting stride, they are compelling and innovative. There seems to be musical themes running through the disc that give it continuity in its earlier portions. There are constant mentions of “imaginary” items which is a thread that continues through the album.

If the band had expanded upon the ideas they take from the first six songs to the remainder of the work, it would’ve been even better. Still, this material is fairly solid and Tears come with a mild recommendation towards fans of Avant-Garde metal.

Categorical Rating Breakdown

Musicianship: 7.5
Atmosphere: 7
Production: 7
Originality: 7.5
Overall: 7.5

Rating:7.3 out of 10

Review by Felix on December 10, 2023.

Today I leave my home country northwards. Ildskær from Denmark have put the spotlight on black metal with lyrics which deal with historic topics of their country. Their debut established this concept and “Paa dækket kalder de døde” does not march to a different drummer, neither lyrically nor musically. The duo still focuses on quite excessive song structures and it keeps its fingers away from surprising twists and turns. All songs of the EP are based on a pretty calm yet substantial flow. One can call this approach predictable, but I appreciate their reliability. You get what you expect and the homogeneity of the material does not lead to boredom. The two artists are clever enough to vary the tempo without giving the songs a completekly new direction. Therefore “Paa dækket kalder de døde” does not suffer from a lack of dynamic. Its songs are long, but never too long and the typical Quebec sound still shimmers through all lines of this EP.

I don’t say that Ildskær is among the five most exciting metal bands in the world. Yes, their compositions are never boring, but they are not immune against any kind of predictability. Nevertheless, they have a clear vision, they seem to like what they do and perhaps their patriotic self-confidence lends them strength. The dark, deep and slightly distorted voice gives the music its demonic touch and the production conveys an appropriate underground feeling without sounding powerless or amateurish. It is therefore only logical that the EP confirms the strong impression of the first full-length. Especially the very robust, atmospherically dense and fast-paced “Blodrøde Bølger” sails swiftly across the North Sea, but the further tracks also do not sound lukewarm or uninspired. No doubt, Ildskær enrich the Danish and even the European scene.

(The only thing that really annoys me is that track 1 of my copy cannot be played. Must be a production error… but I hope someday the song will find its way into my collection in a flawless form and I do not need to listen to it on YT any longer.)

Rating: 7.8 out of 10