Released by: Massacre Records
Release Date: Out Now!!!
Genre: Melodic Trash Metal
Links: http://www.darkane.com/
Line Up:
Lawrence Mackrory – Vocals
Christofer Malmström – Guitars
Klas Ideberg – Guitars
Jörgen Löfberg – Bass
Peter Wildoer – Drums
Tracklist:
01. Sounds Of Pre-Existence
02. The Sinister Supremacy
03. Mechanically Divine
04. Ostracized
05. The Decline
06. Insurrection Is Imminent
07. In The Absence Of Pain
08. Humanity Defined
09. Hate Repentance State
10. Collapse Of Illusions
11. By Darkness Designed
12. Existence Is Just A State Of Mind
Darkane are a band that I’ve only had a passing exposure to. Having seen and heard the name so much over the years I jumped at the chance to review their latest album The Sinister Supremacy on Massacre Records. With only hearing the name passed around and my only musical exposure to them prior being on tribute albums to Accept and Iron Maiden I wasn’t entirely certain what to anticipate from their original material. I recalled enjoying their covers immensely, but just because a band does a good cover doesn’t necessarily mean I’m going to enjoy their original output (looking at you Metallica from Black Album to St Anger.) Honestly, I was expecting them to be a basic black metal band so you can imagine my shock when they were the furthest thing from that.
Of course, when it opened with an orchestral piece I was still on high alert and ready to skip ahead to something else if it was going to meet my expectations as I just wasn’t in the mood for Black Metal. What I discovered was that they’re an excellent mix of more melodic death metal (basically the guy can actually sing yet the riffs are heavy and brutal) and progressive thrash in that is has some great thrash sensibilities and riffs. Typically when I go to sample an album to see if it interests me to review I’ll skip through each track after taking in about 30-60 seconds of music. I didn’t do that with The Sinister Supremacy. I listened to the whole thing right then, and then listened to it again. And then, you guessed it, I listened to it again. Darkane shows me that you can play extreme, aggressive music, but still maintain a sense of melody and not have any issues with singing as well as the growls associated with the style. I can’t speak on how this album holds up against their past releases, but I can assure you I enjoyed this one enough to warrant me to check them out ASAP. For me, I must primarily enjoy the guitar work to truly enjoy an album. Does this album have excellent guitar work? Bet your ass it does. My next consideration when liking music is: do I enjoy the songs and want to listen to them not only once, but over and over again. Has Darkane supplied that with The Sinister Supremacy? Oh hell yes they have! With songs like “The Decline,” “Mechanically Divine,” “In the Absence of Pain,” and “Existence Is Just A State of Mind” as the standout’s for me I was blown away at the technical abilities as well as their abilities to craft great songs as well.
Lovers of extreme metal of this type will revel in the release of Darkane’s sixth album The Sinister Supremacy. I doubt it will have universal appeal across the metal spectrum, but lovers of melodic death and progressive thrash will find plenty to devour with this fantastic release.
Written by Chris Martin
Ratings Chris 8/10
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