| Empyrium 'A Wintersunset' Prophecy , 1996 Lord Pale : Empyrium are the first band released on Prophecy Productions and the label was formed exclusively to release A Wintersunset . Presenting a meloncholic medieval atmosphere in a basic symphonic darkmetal format with pagan/love lorn lyrics , Empyrium offer a fairly original sound . Dep pained and reflective clean vocals are interspersed with a sickly blackmetal rasp offering a variety of romantic grieving moods . Slow melodic leads gently glide over the rhythm chords and complement the sweeping keyboard arrangements throughout the lengthy compositions . Elements of militant drumming and even a few slightly tribal beats are thrown in amongst deep backing choirs to create a semi folky atmosphere augmented by flutes and a tambourine . Empyrium are a very impressive prospect with smooth fluent song writing and a vast variety of styles which blend into a simple straight forward sound . A great debut . Favourite Tracks - Under Dreamskies , The Fraconian Woods In Winters Silence , Moonromanticism Mark - 8/10 Empyrium 'Songs Of Moors And Misty Fields' Prophecy , 1997 Lord Pale : Empyrium's follow up to A Wintersunset is an equally impressive epic of darkmetal romanticism with a deep meloncholic atmosphere . The medieval aspects of the debut album have been put on the back burner in favour of a more romantic , gothic , nature orientation . Deep clean vocals pour through heart wrenching odes of love and loss with counter point blackmetal growls adding an air of agression to the album to combat the calm serenity of the well placed flute passages . Occasionally Songs Of Moors And Misty Fields takes on a quicker rockier edge than the debut on tracks like 'The Blue Mists Of Night' and 'The Ensemble Of Silence' but essentially it sits in the same slow rhythm chord guitar work with gentle melodic leads . Like A Wintersunset , Songs Of Moors And Misty Fields' artwork reflects the mood of the album , with cold bleak images of nature that really help the listener to get in the mood for the music . The songs remain at a consistant high quality level this time around making it an improvement on the bands part , and another worthy album from an seriously underated act . Favourite Tracks - Lovers Grief , When Shadows Grow Longer , Mourners Mark - 9/10 Empyrium 'Where At Night The Wood Grouse Plays' Prophecy , 1999 Lord Pale : Empyrium's third and tragically final album is an acoustic release similar to Ulver's 'Kveldssanger' . Folky and soothing acoustic rhythms combine with deep clean choir vocals and whispered passages with flutes to create short musicals with light lyrical content . The three main exceptions to this rule are firstly the title track , a longer song with a drumbeat and operatic choirs with lyrics revolving around nature . The second is the folky medieval 'Many Moons Ago...' with heedy minstrel vocals and picking acoustics . The final exception is an acoustic remake of 'Where Shadows Grow Longer' from Songs Of Moors And Misty Fields with dueling medieval and meloncholic vocals and deep backing choirs carrying the melody . Overall a decent effort of mood music , but a dissapointing note to go out on . Favourite Tracks - Many Moons Ago... , Where At Night The Wood Grouse Plays , Where Shadows Grow Longer Mark - 7/10 |
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