| Judas Iscariot “Distant In Solitary Night” Moribund Cult , 1999 Lord Pale : Cult Nordic influenced grim , nihilistic , misanthropic blackmetal from America . This is the solo project of Akhenaten ( Sarcophagus ) . It shows his Satanist and totalitarian ideology in the lyrics which are also inspired by the likes of Nietchze . The final track on the album ‘Portions Of Eternity Too Great For The Eye Of Man’ is a read excerpt from William Blakes ‘The Marriage Of Heaven And Hell’ with accompanying music . Akhenaten uses simple , sometimes repetitive riffs in his songs but they are presented in a way where they are dark and don’t get boring . The songs are usually made of three parts , with an opening riff for most of the verses before shifting to another riff for the middle part of the song , and once again for the third part . Akhenaten’s voice is similar to that of Abbath’s from Immortal , and the music could be compared with earlier Darkthrone and Immortal releases . Two of the songs are slower and have a keyboard element to them one being the aforementioned ‘Portions Of Eternity To Great For The Eye Of Man’ ( a poem read to bass and keyboard accompaniment ) and ‘The Clear Moon , And The Glory Of The Darkness’ which starts with a riff and some keyboards that wouldn’t sound out of place on Satyricon’s ‘Dark Medieval Times’ . The production on this album is suitably sparse but surprisingly clear overall . The songs tend to be long , the album has 7 tracks and lasts over 50 minutes , so its definitely value for money .This album was actually recorded in 1996 and should have been released before ‘Of Great Eternity’ but due to Akhenaten’s record label this wasn’t to be . Overall a nice piece of evil cult blackmetal for extreme fans of the genre . Favourite Tracks - Where The Winter Beats Incessant ; The Black Clouds Roll Under The Parapet Of The Sky ; The Wind Stands Silent Mark - 7/10 Judas Iscariot "Heaven In Flames" Red Stream , 1999 Lord Pale : Lavish glossy digipak cd , the artwork is as always cult looking in various shades of grey . This is as yet the best release I have heard from Judas Iscariot . The production is as always very average , but better than usual , only the drums are a drowned out a little as with previous releases . Evil droning keyboards similar to those on Emperor's 'In The Nightside Eclipse' reign in the background of some of the songs on offer and the album sounds a lot darker as a result , but like that album this disc demands close listening to be fully appreciated . The riffing is standard , if not improved from Akhenatens previous works - seminal blackmetal style high pitched whining . The drums are the usual blastbeat affairs with slow downs , some rare double kicks and some nice cybil work , and Akhenaten's rasps . However a few of the songs on offer are a little strange when compared to his other releases for example 'Before A Circle Of Darkness' guitars reach almost cosmic heights when listening to the tuning on the second riff , whilst 'From Hateful Visions' sounds very ummm .... happy which is very odd considering the songs name . The album closes with a musical piece 'An Anchient Starry Sky' which is a fitting close to another album of cult darkness . Containing 7 tracks lasting over 39 minutes this is only for fans of pure raw blackmetal . Favourite Tracks - Eternal Bliss ... Eternal Death , An Eternal Kingdom Of Fire , Gaze Upon Heaven In Flames Mark - 8/10 Judas Iscariot "Dethroned , Conquered , and Forgotten" Red Stream , 2000 Lord Pale : New MCD of cult blackmetal by Judas Iscariot . 'Dethroned...' contains 4 new pieces and a reworkered version of an older song . No keyboards appear at all on this disc , and Akhenaten has finally recruited a session drummer ( Cryptic Winter ) so the drums can now reach blast beat territory without getting sloppy . Thats the first thing I noticed the drum sound has improved vastly , and its faster and better all round . The music is standard Judas Iscariot stuff , so is the structure of this Mini cd . First of all a few fast tracks , then a slower one , then a musical , and back up to speed again . The rerecorded track is called 'Spill The Blood Of The Lamb - Special Blitzkrieg Version' which I find very appropriate , as it is much faster than the version found on 'Heaven in Flames' . This is still fairly decent raw blackmetal , which I would only recommend for those into the more underground extreme side of the genre . Favourite Tracks - Journey Through Visions Of War ; Descent To The Abyss ; Benevolent Whore , Dethroned For Eternity Mark - 7/10 Judas Iscariot 'To Embrace The Corpses Bleeding' Red Stream, 2002 Tyrant: Most of the material on the new Judas Iscariot album is similar in style and execution to the Dethroned, Conquered And Forgotten MCD in terms of style and execution with the added bonus of a little extra melody and better songwriting. Cryptic Winter has again been signed up for session hammer providing a fast tight percussion performance perfectly complimenting Akhenatne's blistering riffs. Only one track features keyboards, the plodding and etheral 'In The Valley Of Death, I Am Their King' which will likely appeal to fans of the Heaven In Flames and Moonlight Butchery style material. To Embrace The Corpses Bleeding is the bands most convincing album to date and rivals Heaven In Flames in terms of quality with a more consistant atmosphere than that album. Overall an album no fan of the band should be without. Favourite Tracks - In The Valley Of Death, I Am Their King ; I Awoke To A Night Of Pain And Carnage ; Bathed In Clouds Of Blood Mark - 8/10 |
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