Richard HolmesKing – Reclaim the Darkness (Indie Recordings)
Genre: Black Metal
Rooted in black metal, steeped in melancholy, ingrained with frost-coated melodies, Reclaim the Darkness is a fine debut that marks Australian trio King as an exciting proposition.
Two years in the making, it’s a mature, refined piece of work filled with drama and emotion – and it interweaves the more ‘accessible’ parts of Norse BM (Satyricon, later Immortal) with the gloom of Paradise Lost to create captivating songs like Cold Winds.
It’s the rich variety on offer here that really makes this opus stand out: All in Black, for instance, is a war hymn a la Abbath and Co., Winter Sons a superbly arranged battle anthem with a gargantuan chorus, My Destination the Stars a song of yearning and hope that sounds like it was forged on an ancient earth.
OK, Reclaim the Darkness can be too in thrall to its influences at times, and The Journey Begins lacks the spark found elsewhere on the album, but this record’s creators have plenty in their armoury… and can build on what they’ve achieved here. A band to watch.
RUSHONROCK RATED: 7.5/10 Dark Tidings