To Elysium

Marrow of Kaladrius

Well, these guys are an extreme metal band from Belgium and to be honest, they […]
By Alex Blaza
September 23, 2014
Marrow of Kaladrius - To Elysium album cover

Well, these guys are an extreme metal band from Belgium and to be honest, they have released a very good album here. I heard "March of the Kaladrius" and instantly fell in love with it because it fulfilled my urge and need to find a new band that I have not heard of before that is relatively new. And that is what this song does; in my review of the band SCARVED, I mentioned that Heavy Metal music can be described like the top gear analogy by being like the two car companies Alfa Romeo and TVR; because like Alfa Romeo Heavy Metal has the Soul and the passion and like TVR it will be really loud, really fast and will more than likely burst into flames when you see them in person. That is exactly what the first track does; you can instantly sense the soul of this band through that song and hear the passion when you first listen to it. This is a band that is giving all they have to reach their goal of becoming a great band in their genre. The track it self sounds like a mixture of Black Metal and Death metal which is a very good combination.

The track "Kalandria" has more of a black metal vibe to it; as it has a pretty fast tempo, especially when you hear the drumming, and the vocal style is more on the Black Metal sub genre, which I like very much, as the vocals suit the music which is being played, which is essential. The track "King of Kings" is probably my favorite, as it is a proper Black Metal song; it not only sounds like a stereotypical Black Metal song like GORGOROTH, but is produced incredibly well, which is quite rare in Black Metal, as a lot of black metal albums sound like they were produced in someone's basement and mixed by a complete ape; but this is an exception and it is not at all boring to listen to. An example of a poorly produced and boring Black Metal album in my opinion was MAYHEMS's "De Mysteriis Dom Sathanas", as you cannot here the vocals and songs like freezing moon and pagan fears just dragged on and on and made me fall asleep. MARROW OF KALADRIUS, on the other hand, are different; they are not at all boring and are incredibly technical.

After that great song came "Serpent and Eagle", which has a pretty demonic and doom like guitar riff, which can be quite scary but very theatrical. Again, not at all a boring song to listen to.

The song I heard after, was "Stellar Icon", which is very operatic with the backing vocals and then the main vocals kick in and it just blows you away, which is one of the reasons why I am starting to fall for this band because they can successfully mix two completely different genres of music and get it to work incredibly successful.

"Song for the free" is another great, fast and energetic song that is what Black metal is, it is what Black metal, Thrash Metal, Death Metal and original Heavy Metal do best. Because it is fast it is not boring in the slightest and this band offers music, which has never been heard before by anyone. So they are imaginative which is a great thing (I hope those idiots from SCARVED are reading this because they can learn from these guys) The track "Sky Emperor", sounds like a villain from a Star Wars novel, which just sounds fascinating to those who are interested in that sort of fiction or in fact, fantasy novels like Game Of Thrones, because it appeals to the inner child within you, as it did to me. Also the instrumentation in the song is very talented and isn't for people who think that playing three power chords in a song constitutes a full song.

"To Elysium" is quite a melodic track on this album and is not that fast in tempo, compared to the others I have heard on this album, but it is still enjoyable to listen to and will get anyone listening to it.

"As the Constellation Falls" is a very good song to finish the album off with, as it has the typical traits of a Black Metal album; high pitched guttural vocals, fast drumming and guitars, booming bass tracks, but it also has a synth in it. This is quite odd for Black Metal, as you would never associate a synthesizer with Black Metal. But overall it sounds bloody awesome.

Overall, I would give this band a solid 10/10 for not only making an album, which is thoroughly enjoyable, and not at all boring to listen to, like listening to a DREAM THEATER album, but it is brilliantly produced, so they deserve the 10/10 for superb musicianship and top-notch production.
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10 / 10

Masterpiece

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"To Elysium" Track-listing:

1. Cosmic Reign
2. Sky Emperor
3. Kalandria
4. As the Constellation Falls
5. To Elysium
6. When Daylight Rises...
7. Serpent and Eagle
8. King of Kings
9. Stellar Icon
10. March of the Kaladrius
11. Song for the Free
12. ...And Night Time Falls

Marrow of Kaladrius Lineup:

Brieuc De Groof - Guitar, Vocals
Michel Debeck - Vocals
Samuel Coppin - Guitar
Jeremy Laitem - Bass, Vocals
Kevin Facella - Drums

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