CoC : Crest of Darkness - Project Regeneration : Review

Crest of Darkness - _Project Regeneration_
(Listenable, 2001)
by: Vincent Eldefors (6.5 out of 10)

Black metal is one of the easiest styles of metal to play, but it is definitely not easy to make it sound good. The vocals have to be evil and raw, but still not annoying. The music has to be very fast or symphonic, but without becoming monotonous. Some black metal bands create some of the best music that can be found on this earth, while others create some of the worst. The Norwegian band Crest of Darkness lies somewhere inbetween the two categories. This is the band that was originally formed as a solo project by the former Conception bass player Ingar Amlien, who had always been interested in the darker side of life and therefore also the darker side of music. To be able to realize his black visions he had to do this in another band. Perhaps because of his previous experience, the music of Crest of Darkness is very progressive and experimental, but still contains a sharp brutal edge. Ingar Amlien has always wanted to present his music as black and Satanic, but this time the lyrical concept deals with the future of mankind, a future where technology may become our worst enemy. The music is often quite interesting thanks to the nice riffs that can be found here and there on the album, but unfortunately it gets a little too chaotic and annoying in the end. Another thing that makes me rate this album rather low is that I am not too fond of the hissing male vocals and Kristin Fjellseth's female vocals. Kristin has a pretty nice voice, and I think they could have made it sound a lot better than it does here (she has now left the band for her other band Pale Forest). I must admit that Crest of Darkness is a creative band who isn't afraid to experiment, but unfortunately this album didn't impress me much. It works very well as background music, though.

Contact: http://www.crestofdarkness.com

(article published 12/4/2002)

ALBUMS
1/26/2008	Q Kalis	4.5	Crest of Darkness - Give Us the Power to Do Your Evil
5/19/1999	D Rocher	9	Crest of Darkness - The Ogress