Review by Benjamin on May 18, 2021.

Fire Walk With Us is very nearly two decades old, but has lost none of the otherworldly brilliance that originally entranced me on release in 2001. The turn of the century was a curious time for black metal; a maturing audience tiring a little of the orthodox second-wave Scandinavian sounds of the key progenitors, and some of the bands themselves reflecting this desire to push the genre into new spaces. Pivotal bands such as Dodheimsgard, Arcturus and Satyricon were at the forefront of this movement, combining external influences such as drum ‘n’ bass, folk and psychedelia with a molten core of black metal riffing to forge ever more left hand paths of extremity.

Aborym’s debut, Kali Yuga Bizarre, had flown somewhat under the radar, but with the aforementioned millennial zeitgeist in their favour, together with the symbolic presence on vocals of ex- (and once again current) Mayhem totem Attila Csihar, the Italians were perfectly positioned to deliver something that both encapsulated the time, and was simultaneously ageless in its embodiment of black metal old and new.

As the buzzsaw guitars of ‘Our Sentence’ immediately set the tone for the rest of the album, Aborym ingeniously deliver the cold, ravishing grimness that one would ordinarily associate with frostbitten black metal, but via the industrial, mechanised feel of the frozen electronics that enhance merge seamlessly with blasting riffing, at times recalling Thorns, in all their discordant majesty. ‘Love The Death As The Life’ falls further into the abyss, with drug-addled psychedelic metal giving way to thumping electronic beats. The grandiloquent title track forms the centrepiece of the album, with a symphonic breadth of sound generating a sense of awe and wonder not dissimilar to early Emperor. More impressive is that Aborym repeats the trick with the very next track, but with vastly different source material. ‘Here Is No God S.T.A.’ eliminates almost all traces of black metal, instead offering furious techno, but somehow preserving the spiritual core of everything that precedes it.

Finally, bringing the album full circle, prior to the ambient-electro outro of ‘Theta Paranoia’ is a monumental cover of Burzum’s ‘Det Som En Gang Var’. In many other bands’ hands, a version of such a pivotal work of the genre might sound trite and lacking in depth, but on Fire Walk With Us, it actually serves to unify and connect Aborym with the black metal masters that they both emulate and diverge from so substantially. Aborym’s version is quite simply staggering, maintaining and even accentuating the mesmerising repetition that made the original so essential.

Fire Walk With Us has lost none of its power since release. In contrast with the music that clearly inspired it, the album evokes a dread of majesty by taking the listener to the brink of the inward abyss, rather than by looking outward towards infinite nature. The inclusion of the inimitable wails and atonal moaning of Csihar’s vocals also serve to connect Aborym with their clear influences, but rather than standing in the shadows of giants, on this outstanding album. Aborym themselves become one.

Rating: 9.1 out of 10

Review by JD on January 25, 2009.

One weird name for this band... that is true, but does that spell a bad album? Nope! It perhaps makes you look twice before simply passing it off as run of the mill or something. I am glad that I did get this Polish powerhouse Mord'A'Stigmata to review.

They are a brutal slab of metal straight from Poland, people who always know just how to crush our craniums. The band, as like others from their homeland, do not compromise anything, making the music blast into your head like a run-a-way Mack truck into a brick wall. It os completely explosive, as those guitar attacks could bends steel yet still hold so much talent that it is nearly criminal to hear.

I am not quite sure why they use some German phrases and words in their music, but hey... that is unimportant (other than my more than mild curiosity) because this band is clearly one that knows how to punch out some serious sounding Death Metal. One listen to the songs like 'Manstrual Heroin' or 'Mercury's Sigillum' and you will get that picture clearly. They do not pretend to play Death Metal or have a lack of intelligence... they pound out amazing walls of metallic thunder while making enough changes to show that they are different as well... and all with great thought.

Mord'A'Stigmata clearly is a band that fits well into the metal frame of things... but they are out to define exactly what they will be bringing into that frame, and that has the stamp of originality all over it. They are musicians that will be leading the new metal charge from the European east, and will vehemently stomp all fake music out in it's path.

Categorical Rating Breakdown

Musicianship: 8.5
Atmosphere: 7.5
Production: 7
Originality:8
Overall: 8

Rating: 7.8 out of 10

Review by Lynxie on August 20, 2022.

Strange how the genre of power metal is prone to produce two sorts of bands these days. Some choose to adapt the more modern, pop music-ish sound and use a mass amount of synth. Yes, I’m talking about bands like Arion and many Finnish melodic power metal bands. Others choose to hearken back to the golden age of the 90s, more focused on the speedy guitars and pounding drums. At the first listen there will be no doubt in which category the Swedish newcomer Evermore falls into. Their fast and thrilling guitars, highly energetic drums, soaring vocals can easily bring one back to the glorious age when bands like Edguy and Stratovarius reigned supreme.

As my review title points out, this is sort of the height of mediocrity you can find in the genre. The riffs are flashy, sounding happy all the way. The choruses are catchy, I find myself almost instinctively bellowing out to “ follow the road and you hear or see no evil” after a few listens. The lyrics, true to its name, talk about the life and death of some sort of king who is a tyrant. You know, the typical fantastical stuff. I actually quite like the vocalist Johan Haraldsson despite finding him a shriller version of Alessandro Conti. His high notes aren’t really impressive, but are solid enough not to get drowned out by the instruments. As usual, group choirs are strewn everywhere and a healthy dose of orchestra and piano is added. The overall style is the fast and melodic power metal you will find in Dreamtale and Dragonforce, though with none of the latter’s flourish solos.

Indeed one will make many connections here. Intro 'Hero's Journey' simply vibes off Dreamtale with its orchestral arrangement, then launches into 'Call Of The Wild' (I hope that name was a coincidence), a track which seems to draw their influences aplenty from Stratovarius. The title track has a riff worthy of 'Freedom Call'. And whoever did the songwriting must have been a huge fan of Edguy, for their influence are very pronounced here. Especially the riff for 'By Death Reborn' - if that wasn’t a Mysteria rip off then I’m deaf. Not that I’m complaining over this point since plenty of other bands do this. And I’m probably not the only one who finds their cover art a darker, more Victorian themed version of The Mad King.
But two complaints I have to make about this release. Its shortness is definitely one. A near 40-minute debut is just too short when it’s filled with solid, if not excellent, stuff. Also, the production is a bit rough. The overall quality is a bit muffled and since I like to listen to my power metal at full volume, I find the guitars slightly fuzzy in solos. Even at full volume the bass are mixed a bit far behind.

Still, as far as debut albums go, Court Of The Tyrant King is a release that will please most fans in the genre. That is, if you are familiar with the most generic sound power metal has to offer. If you already felt bored with those, then this is something you should avoid like the COVID-19.

Highlights: 'Rising Tide', 'By Death Reborn', 'Northern Cross', 'See No Evil'

Rating: 7.8 out of 10

Review by Lynxie on August 20, 2022.

Strange how the genre of power metal is prone to produce two sorts of bands these days. Some choose to adapt the more modern, pop music-ish sound and use a mass amount of synth. Yes, I’m talking about bands like Arion and many Finnish melodic power metal bands. Others choose to hearken back to the golden age of the 90s, more focused on the speedy guitars and pounding drums. At the first listen there will be no doubt in which category the Swedish newcomer Evermore falls into. Their fast and thrilling guitars, highly energetic drums, soaring vocals can easily bring one back to the glorious age when bands like Edguy and Stratovarius reigned supreme.

As my review title points out, this is sort of the height of mediocrity you can find in the genre. The riffs are flashy, sounding happy all the way. The choruses are catchy, I find myself almost instinctively bellowing out to “ follow the road and you hear or see no evil” after a few listens. The lyrics, true to its name, talk about the life and death of some sort of king who is a tyrant. You know, the typical fantastical stuff. I actually quite like the vocalist Johan Haraldsson despite finding him a shriller version of Alessandro Conti. His high notes aren’t really impressive, but are solid enough not to get drowned out by the instruments. As usual, group choirs are strewn everywhere and a healthy dose of orchestra and piano is added. The overall style is the fast and melodic power metal you will find in Dreamtale and Dragonforce, though with none of the latter’s flourish solos.

Indeed one will make many connections here. Intro 'Hero's Journey' simply vibes off Dreamtale with its orchestral arrangement, then launches into 'Call Of The Wild' (I hope that name was a coincidence), a track which seems to draw their influences aplenty from Stratovarius. The title track has a riff worthy of 'Freedom Call'. And whoever did the songwriting must have been a huge fan of Edguy, for their influence are very pronounced here. Especially the riff for 'By Death Reborn' - if that wasn’t a Mysteria rip off then I’m deaf. Not that I’m complaining over this point since plenty of other bands do this. And I’m probably not the only one who finds their cover art a darker, more Victorian themed version of The Mad King.
But two complaints I have to make about this release. Its shortness is definitely one. A near 40-minute debut is just too short when it’s filled with solid, if not excellent, stuff. Also, the production is a bit rough. The overall quality is a bit muffled and since I like to listen to my power metal at full volume, I find the guitars slightly fuzzy in solos. Even at full volume the bass are mixed a bit far behind.

Still, as far as debut albums go, Court Of The Tyrant King is a release that will please most fans in the genre. That is, if you are familiar with the most generic sound power metal has to offer. If you already felt bored with those, then this is something you should avoid like the COVID-19.

Highlights: 'Rising Tide', 'By Death Reborn', 'Northern Cross', 'See No Evil'

Rating: 7.8 out of 10