Agathodaimon – In Darkness (2013)

Arriving today from Massacre records we have Agathodaimon and the follow up to their controversial 2009 release “Phoenix”. Going from Symphonic/Melodic Black Metal to Blacked Gothic Metal left a lot of people puzzled by their odd transformation. With “In Darkness” the band starts solidifying their very unique style, making it a bit more cohesive but still quite unexpected. In our opinion, their brave evolution is quite engaging and made us really enjoy this new release.

The album blasts open with “In Darkness (We Shall Be Reborn)”, a 6-minte epic that reminds us a lot of Graveworm and their very bombastic Symphonic/Gothic Black Metal. The band delivers powerful riffs and killer atmospheric keyboards in a very punishing manner. The vocals change between growls, shrieks, and clean singing very convincingly giving the music enough depth. “I’ve Risen” and “Favourite Sin” for the most part sound like Dimmu Borgir, and this is a great thing in our opinion. The clean vocals really add to the music and make it more interesting and less linear.

“Oceans of Black” is the perfect example of how the band has managed to combine both Gothic and Black Metal elements into very dynamic and engaging songs. While it has taken a band a few tries, they have completely nailed it on this release. The album’s standout track is the epic and melancholic “Adio”. The dramatic keyboards greatly contrasted by the riffs and the harsh vocals make it very engaging and quite catchy. For people looking for relentless Black Metal, “Dusk of an Infinite Shade (Amurg)” is one hell of a track that has very fast paced drumming, crushing vocals, and catchy keyboards.

The melancholic “Höllenfahrt der Selbsterkenntnis” is the perfect closer for the regular version of this release. With a very slow and painful vibe, this track is the bleakest and moodiest of the whole release. In general, “In Darkness” is a huge improvement over “Phoenix”, and it shows the band nicely merging some of their older elements with their Gothic Metal evolution. Agathodaimon is a high-quality band and they do not disappoint with this release.

Label: Massacre Records

Release: June 28th, 2013

Genre: Symphonic/Gothic Black Metal

Country: Germany