On The Edge Of The NetherRealm - Different Realms
On The Edge Of The NetherRealm is the side project of Revelations of Rain's guitarist, Vladimir Andreev. The vocals on the album are handled by someone called Sethaye who i know absolutely nothing about but his vocal technique is pretty good. The project has been active since 2005 and this is their first full length release. Musically speaking, this album is very generic of the whole Gothic, Death Doom scene. Death Metal growling vocals, crushing riffs, symphonic keyboard and piano work with a lot of double kick drumming. Is it any good, well i have heard a lot worse, that is for sure. The main problem i have is the album is almost too typical of the genre of metal they are playing but it is played extremely well. Andreev is a exceptional musician and the songs are beautifully constructed but anyone who is familiar with the Gothic Death/Doom scene would have heard it all before a million times.
The bulk of "Different Realms" is made up of mid-paced sections of gloomy, blackened doom metal with twists and turns involving quieter keyboard and piano pieces. The stand out point is in the incredible solo work of Andrevv, this alone is worth the price of admission. He cleverly switches between shredding, screaming solos and classically sounding, complex guitar runs. Some parts of this album really stand out from the rest, opener "Day And Night" is one of them. Its not that much different than Andrevv's main band "Revelations Of Rain" but you hear subtle other influences that creep in from time to time. Novembre is one of them and he has certainly taken some notice of the way Saturnus do things. "Day And Night" switches between crushing doom to Gothic keyboard/piano driven parts to epic, classic inspired metal and its done with ease, nothing on the track seems overdone or slapped together. "Get The F*** Out From Others" has some killer crunching rhythms although the constant computer enhanced double kick drum work gets a little monotonous after a while. If the drums are not computer-enhanced, they sound like it. You could never describe this album as being organic but the production and sound is gigantic and full.
Other tracks on "Different Realms" like "Boundless Life" and "On The Verge" have their moments. They project that melancholic vibe that this genre of music is based upon and for that, it works. The rest of the album seems pretty standard Goth Death/Doom to me however but beautifully played, again the solo's make "Different Realms" what it is. There is some outstanding melodies on the album but there is also a lot of filler moments that seem to drag, still good musically but rather predictable. I am positive, there is a huge section of the doom community that loves this brand of doom but i am not one of them right now. My conclusion is if what to hear Gothic Death/Doom played with some real class, then "Different Realms" will mostly satisfy but if you are looking for something different or unique then you might want to look elsewhere.
The bulk of "Different Realms" is made up of mid-paced sections of gloomy, blackened doom metal with twists and turns involving quieter keyboard and piano pieces. The stand out point is in the incredible solo work of Andrevv, this alone is worth the price of admission. He cleverly switches between shredding, screaming solos and classically sounding, complex guitar runs. Some parts of this album really stand out from the rest, opener "Day And Night" is one of them. Its not that much different than Andrevv's main band "Revelations Of Rain" but you hear subtle other influences that creep in from time to time. Novembre is one of them and he has certainly taken some notice of the way Saturnus do things. "Day And Night" switches between crushing doom to Gothic keyboard/piano driven parts to epic, classic inspired metal and its done with ease, nothing on the track seems overdone or slapped together. "Get The F*** Out From Others" has some killer crunching rhythms although the constant computer enhanced double kick drum work gets a little monotonous after a while. If the drums are not computer-enhanced, they sound like it. You could never describe this album as being organic but the production and sound is gigantic and full.
Other tracks on "Different Realms" like "Boundless Life" and "On The Verge" have their moments. They project that melancholic vibe that this genre of music is based upon and for that, it works. The rest of the album seems pretty standard Goth Death/Doom to me however but beautifully played, again the solo's make "Different Realms" what it is. There is some outstanding melodies on the album but there is also a lot of filler moments that seem to drag, still good musically but rather predictable. I am positive, there is a huge section of the doom community that loves this brand of doom but i am not one of them right now. My conclusion is if what to hear Gothic Death/Doom played with some real class, then "Different Realms" will mostly satisfy but if you are looking for something different or unique then you might want to look elsewhere.
1. Day And Night
2. Solitude
3. Get The Fuck Out From Others
4.
Boundless Life
5. Rebirth
6. On The Verge
7. Past
8. Dream
BadMoodMan Records
Reviewer: Ed
Apr 21, 2010
Apr 21, 2010
Next review:
Mastabah - Quintessence Of Evil
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