Review by Felix on May 1, 2019.

Evil has many forms and one of them is presented by Svartsyn. An underground-compatible production paints an ominous, archaic picture. The nearly opaque mix lacks clarity, but it generates such an unholy atmosphere that any type of minor flaws can be neglected. Those of you who love to walk through clammy underground passageways will know this special kind of shower running down the spine and here presented sound brings this feeling to life, even though one is sitting in a well-tempered lounge. Of course, this kind of reverberating sound has never been a state-of-the-art production, but it fulfils its purpose.

Svartsyn have always been disciples of the darkest art and it goes without saying that ...His Majesty also does not know any other color. This is pristine black metal with a great portion of hatred and misanthropy, even if one considers that the sub-genre has never taken care for the bright side of life. Either way, I am confronted with high velocity outbursts and sometimes I have the feeling that the guitars always play the same tone. That's surely nonsense, but from my point of view, the material lacks a bit of diversity, even though highlights like "Dungeons" or "I'm Cleopatra's Killer" shine with some morbid lines. To say the songs are interchangeable might be too harsh, but significant differences between them are mostly also not identifiable. By the way, this statement applies for both, style and, to a certain degree, quality. Perhaps it was part of the concept to create an unending stream of cruel guitar tones? Either way, Svartsyn do not disappoint. Their fury, ferocity and determination reflect the spiritual fundament of the sub-genre. Nevertheless, the combination of the pretty complex song patterns and the impenetrable sound challenges the listener, inter alia due to the total absence of parts which keep sticking in the ears immediately.

But maybe I am just a fast-food-music-consumer and therefore I should be fair with records like ...His Majesty. Moreover, it belongs to the early works of the Swedish ambassadors of evil. Hence it comes as no surprise that a few sections are going nowhere, for example some guitar leads of "It Breathes". Svartsyn have put their pitch-black souls into the creation of this album, they spit on atmospheric keyboards, female vocals, acoustic guitars and further pretty superfluous ingredients. That's great, I like their stubbornness as well as I like this full-length. It's an album for special hours and no easy-listening-black-metal, it rather calls for total concentration of the audience. However, I am sure that most of us have become metal fans exactly because of the willingness to consume music very attentively. Thus, it's up to you to decode ...His Majesty. It needs a lot of devotion, but it is worth the effort.

Rating: 7.6 out of 10

Review by Felix on May 1, 2019.

Evil has many forms and one of them is presented by Svartsyn. An underground-compatible production paints an ominous, archaic picture. The nearly opaque mix lacks clarity, but it generates such an unholy atmosphere that any type of minor flaws can be neglected. Those of you who love to walk through clammy underground passageways will know this special kind of shower running down the spine and here presented sound brings this feeling to life, even though one is sitting in a well-tempered lounge. Of course, this kind of reverberating sound has never been a state-of-the-art production, but it fulfils its purpose.

Svartsyn have always been disciples of the darkest art and it goes without saying that ...His Majesty also does not know any other color. This is pristine black metal with a great portion of hatred and misanthropy, even if one considers that the sub-genre has never taken care for the bright side of life. Either way, I am confronted with high velocity outbursts and sometimes I have the feeling that the guitars always play the same tone. That's surely nonsense, but from my point of view, the material lacks a bit of diversity, even though highlights like "Dungeons" or "I'm Cleopatra's Killer" shine with some morbid lines. To say the songs are interchangeable might be too harsh, but significant differences between them are mostly also not identifiable. By the way, this statement applies for both, style and, to a certain degree, quality. Perhaps it was part of the concept to create an unending stream of cruel guitar tones? Either way, Svartsyn do not disappoint. Their fury, ferocity and determination reflect the spiritual fundament of the sub-genre. Nevertheless, the combination of the pretty complex song patterns and the impenetrable sound challenges the listener, inter alia due to the total absence of parts which keep sticking in the ears immediately.

But maybe I am just a fast-food-music-consumer and therefore I should be fair with records like ...His Majesty. Moreover, it belongs to the early works of the Swedish ambassadors of evil. Hence it comes as no surprise that a few sections are going nowhere, for example some guitar leads of "It Breathes". Svartsyn have put their pitch-black souls into the creation of this album, they spit on atmospheric keyboards, female vocals, acoustic guitars and further pretty superfluous ingredients. That's great, I like their stubbornness as well as I like this full-length. It's an album for special hours and no easy-listening-black-metal, it rather calls for total concentration of the audience. However, I am sure that most of us have become metal fans exactly because of the willingness to consume music very attentively. Thus, it's up to you to decode ...His Majesty. It needs a lot of devotion, but it is worth the effort.

Rating: 7.6 out of 10

Review by JD on October 25, 2008.

This Goth/Metal duo us from the land down under...Melbourne Australia to be exact, and crosses my desk. Don’t know what their name actually means... but it surely gets attention right off the bat.

They seem to be musically very impressive and rather stunning... unfortunately they are a rather good mix of Evanescence with the musical heaviness of someone like Nightwish. Don’t get me wrong here, the lyrics that the lead vocalist, Kelly Lean comes up with are as poetic as any that I have heard, along with some punch... but her vocal style is not quite original.

Kelly Lean sounds almost exactly like how Amy Lee of Evanescence does to the point of being rather a spooky mirroring of her. The tone she holds, the power and even some of the phrasing that has been used musically... makes her sound very close to Miss Lee. I usually don’t like sound-a-likes at the best of times, they usually made me cringe at the best of times... but I found Temujin was able to rise over the comparisons and has started on the road to their own voice. I had always wanted the band Evanescence to have their music go way more heavy direction that what has been put out there, so I was so glad when I found that Temujin shows exactly how it could be.( Hey, Amy... check it out).

The music, although put together with a myriad of MIDI tools, computer enhancements and guest musicians..."1000 Tears" is a pretty solid album. Recording wise it suffers a little bit, but that is only minor. I hope Temujin becomes a full fledged band, with permanent players.... Two members are great... getting the right people and letting it all flow, would just make them better.

This gothic twosome is clearly going places, and the band can’t help but get better and better. I look forward to hearing the next album.... and hope that they have stepped out of the shadows of these other great bands to forge a style all of their own. It they did, I will be listening.

Categorical Rating Breakdown

Musicianship: 8
Atmosphere: 7
Production: 6
Originality:7
Overall: 8

Rating: 7.5 out of 10