DARK AGE - Acedia

Dark Age - Acedia

11 songs
44:19 minutes
***** ****
AFM

Bandpage

Dark Age from Germany can’t pride themselves in having chosen a very original name, as the Internet’s Metal Archives list nearly twenty identically called bands. Nevertheless the Hamburgers might have been one of the first as they were founded already in 1994. They label their music melodic death metal, which is partly true, but their meanwhile seventh album Acedia comes with many more influences.

Already the opener Kingdom Nevercome reveals to be a great neck breaker, full of mean riffs that should delight every modern thrash metal fan. The following Devote Yourself To Nothing is just as strong by once again clashing brutal verses with melodic choruses. In fact Dark Age seem to have put a lot of effort into the vocals as well as the instrumentation, preventing any empty spaces by adding countless breaks that can make you dizzy if you try to follow each and every one. Neon Gardens is flirting somewhat with the nu metal movement, Snake Of June is a little darker with a certain gothic metal touch, and Zeitgeist has even a hint of industrial that should appeal to fans of Fear Factory. The superposition of a raw and a melodic voice works splendidly on Underneath These Burdens, while the catchy Babylon Riots reminds a little of Waltari. The powerful production furthermore help to emphasise Dark Age’s class.

The fun ends unfortunately already after three quarters of an hour, but Acedia has so much to offer that you should be motivated to listen to this record again and again. The album should focus the listener’s attention on new, yet undiscovered elements whenever it is played. This has become an extremely mature record that can clearly be counted among the better efforts of modern metal.

Back to Reviews