Melodic Black Metal, brought to you by a one-man band called DEAD EARTH. Quite a good name, by the way! They hail from Sweden, of all countries. The town he lives in is called Linköping, Östergötland, and I am not ashamed to say that I haven’t got the foggiest where to find this place. As for Black Metal, the time that it was mainly a Norwegian matter has long gone, but it will not surprise you to learn of another band in this vein residing in Scandinavia.

What is the expectation I have of DEAD EARTH and this, their debut album “Et Disperdam Illud”? I really don’t know, I feel that they are not too high, as usually people don’t play all instruments as well as they think they do. In this case I can put your mind at ease, as all music is played from at least a good level up to an outstanding level. The foundation of the sound, in other words the drums and bass, are sound and secure. They do what they have to do. The voice used is solid, has volume and depth and sounds as menacing as it should for e Black Metal album.

Then there’s the guitars. The riffing is as one would hope it is on a Black Metal disc. Low, heavy, constant, but with enough variety to prevent monotony and/or boredom. When you finally get to hear the guitar solos, they are from a different spectrum than the rest. Thy sound like they were played by one of those guitarists that play like they are masturbating to their tunes. Think YNGWIE MALMSTEEN, STEVE VAI or JOE SATRIANI. Well, he tries, but Mathias Kamijo never even touches their level. Not that he is bad at it, on the contrary, but he does repeat himself regularly.

What I do like is the use of the piano once in a while. It enhances the dark and mystic effect of the music. Oh, I need to address the songs themselves. Well, let’s just say that you will not hear anything that is above bog-standard level. Again there is nothing wrong with any of them, but none of DEAD EARTH tunes on “Et Disperdam Illud” will have you excited or leaping for joy. Unless you are an avid fan of all Melodic Black Metal released, then this might tighten or moisten your trousers, depending on your gender.