Besides nice weather, volcanic activities and hot springs, Costa Rica is also the home of Adversaria, a solo-project from the person who calls himself Revenant. After releasing only two singles (both on this EP) he now unleashes his first extended play Twilight of the divine upon us. Let us take a look at how Costa Rica gives their take on black metal.
As a first release with only two tracks the minds are open. How does the music sound, how is the mix and what is there to give as advice (in my opinion)?
The first track, Psalm of the seraphic ashes: light of apostasy starts without an intro. So far so good. The mix sounds great from the start, well balanced and full of power. It is old school but does the job. The moment the vocals join a lead guitar can be heard, both are at the right point in the mix, only the drums are pushed to the background.
The riffs are not special, a bit generic even, although it is performed great, it’s very shallow. That trend seems to continue on the second track Bleeding icons: eyes turned to salt. The riffing sounds almost the same as on the first track, not just a subtle hint of continuation but almost as a copy.
The same counts for the third track Thorns of aether: dagger of the adversary, the variety misses and it sounds too much of the same with little changes in between. It is performed great but in the age where so many great albums see the day of light, this sounds more like an idea made quickly than a true new act,
The last track, and the best in my opinion, is Omen wound: veilworn. The patterns and chords used are yet again very simplistic, you will know what comes next even before you have heard it. This track is more diverse than the rest, and shows a great atmosphere.
Summary:
As a first release Adversaria – Twilight of the divine is not that noteworthy. The production is good, the riffs are mediocre but sounds good production wise. But to be honest, it misses a lot to make a noteworthy release. My advice is to try to diversify the riffs, learn more than one pattern to follow on the guitars. Invest time in playing real bass guitar instead of following the root note, and dare to explore a little bit.
As a first release I won’t be too harsh, but there is room for improvement.
65/100
Adversaria:
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Komando Kaos Records:
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