Images at Twilight – Kings (Indie Recordings)
Genre: Symphonic Black Metal
If Cradle of Filth, Dimmu Borgir or Bal-Sagoth float your black metal boat, then it’s a fair bet that Kings will have you throwing the horns and banging your head in appreciation. This is symphonic BM with an injection of pure rocket fuel – as intense (and grandiose) as the sub genre gets. And as songs such as the dramatic, blastbeat-driven Awazor prove, this Norwegian act can clearly deliver.
The band’s mastermind, André Aaslie – who handles piano and orchestration – is a skilled conductor (his work on Created to Destroy is nothing short of triumphant); having waited since the late 90s to put his ideas into practice, you sense that he’s not held anything back on this debut, sweeping the rest of his bandmates along with him as he strives to realise his dreams.
This is indeed a lofty album with a lofty concept (a story of extra-terrestrials who inhabited the Earth before humankind) and while its riffery isn’t as sharp as you’ll find on a Cradle or Dimmu record, Kings still packs one hell of a punch.
RUSHONROCK RATED: 7/10 Twilight Saga