Forgotten Tomb-Under Saturn Retrogade
Posted in Reviews, Uncategorized on April 27th, 2011 by Samuel
Genre: Black Metal
Label: Agonia Records
I went through a period a couple years ago where I was really into DSBM, or depressive/suicidal black metal. Forgotten Tomb are one of the bigger names of the genre, but they never really clicked for me. Mainly because their music isn’t depressing, which as you have no doubt determined is a key attribute of DSBM.
“Under Saturn Retrogade” is no different, and maybe even worse; I’m not sure about the latter because I’m not intimately familiar with their discography.
This album sounds like Satyricon’s “Now, Diabolical”, the music being mainly watered down, catchy black metal. Whether the band genuinely thought they were writing depressing black metal or not, I cannot say, but there are cliche power chord riffs and half assed vocals as far as the eye can see. How exactly is this DSBM again?
Unfortunately, Forgotten Tomb don’t stop there, oh no sir. They push themselves even further away from black metal with the inclusion of clean vocals sprinkled throughout the album. This is not necessarily a bad choice, some bands (Lurker of Chalice) do it well, but the execution is awful and sounds like the kind of “emotional” singing you hear in nu-metal and post grunge crap.
I’m going to wrap this up quickly, as I don’t have much else to say about this album besides how it’s not depressing or black metal or good, but I will say something positive. The last 3 songs on the album, all of which feature prominent acoustic guitars, flow together pleasantly, and I think they sound like something of a trilogy. They suck less ass than the rest of the album.
Overall, I wouldn’t say this isn’t worth listening to unless you’re already a fan of the band. I can’t recommend this to fans of DSBM because it fails as an attempt at DSBM, and I can’t recommend it to fans of black metal because it fails as an attempt at black metal. For a truly superior Depressive Suicidal listening experience, go pick up Thy Light’s “Suici.depression” or ”Soundtrack to a Suicide – Opus II” by Nocturnal Depression.
I rate this 4/10, all 4 points coming from the final 3 songs.
Forgotten Tomb on Myspace
Root‘s new, 9th full-length album will be released in the autumn as a CD and a noble vinyl, both by Agonia Records. It is being currently recorded. You can expect more epic, slower compositions as well as some more agressive and faster parts. More information about the new album will follow soon.
