MaelStrom.nu back
Rating: 6,5 / 10

Concept albums are undoubtedly a convenient platform for artists to gain legitimation and justification for the conveyance of their ideas. Under the protective coverage of the featured concept, one may afford to superimpose all of his or her already heard clichés, relatively dull ideas, lack of creative thinking and sheer laziness. Every trodden riff sounds dramatic and narrative, each banal melody is suddenly reminiscent of Tommy or Seventh Son of a Seventh Son, to say the least. Not to say that Apokrypha necessarily perform any of these misdeeds. Not too blatantly, anyway. Actually, their music is rather decent, in a conventional sort of way. Proving fine instrumental performance, the group of German blackers has gathered a bunch of up tempo, distinctive, angry, standardly melodic and slightly thrashy themes, not exceedingly creative yet avoiding relapsing to the realms of utter boredom. All are concentrated under a unifying concept having to do with an apocalypse, a herd of ignorant and indifferent doomed people, an elite of aware people to be salvaged, and, lest we forget, seven unearthly entities to grant them with salvation. Indeed, a concept album. Musically, if an element of singularity is to be mentioned, it may be seen in the interesting, quite successful blend of engulfing atmospheric movements within the context of linear, purposeful array of clearly progressing, simply constructed metal phrases. Many of the songs contain circular, encompassing motives - which, unlike in many of the Norse-oriented acts of the genre, do not implode to form a self-indulgent whirlpool of submerging, isolated magic, but remain faithful to the overall literary evolvement of the general context. After all, we can't ignore the concept, can we? As has been implied before, not all of the material played by Apokrypha is exceedingly original or interesting. Nor does their literary skill manage to impress to the extent of transferring their creation to artistic realms other than that of relatively simple, mainstream extreme metal. However, acting from within their frame of well-known limitations, they do manage to produce a creation with a relatively original tinge, decent delivery and, for fans of the genre - also the merit of light headed enjoymnent. All in all, nothing to make great efforts to hear, yet definitely a worthy option.

02.2005 - Rod