Asguard "Dreamslave" (This Dark Reign)
By Taylor Green
Wednesday. Sep 14, 1:49 AM
Commercial black metal.

It's kind of sad to me, reading this stat sheet I was sent and seeing that Dreamslave is the album that will finally bring Asguard “into recognition,” “the extreme metal release of the year,” and blah blah blah. I mean, it's a lofty claim to say all this stuff, but to not live up to it just makes me shake my head in shame. I've never heard any of their previous stuff, so I'm not sure if this is a whole band overhaul to the likes of other black metalers such as Dimmu Borgir, Samael, Cradle Of Filth, etc. However, it's clear that Asguard first and foremost are about as black metal as Cradle Of Filth, and that they do a very good impersonation of these bands who claim that, in order to be black metal, all you need is a huge orchestra and some screeching vocals.

Asguard's latest release isn't necessarily bad. There are definitely some cool parts here and there, especially the intro to the title track and the majority of the intermission tracks. But overall, what Asguard put out is a mainstream-ish "black metal" release with absolutely zero thrash qualities, over-paced vocals, repetitive drum lines, and a big beefy orchestra to mask the fact that their guitar riffs are less inventive than Blink-182’s. There's some standout material here, but every time I hear something good it's bogged down by another aspect of the music. Nothing on the album clicks at all and it just seems like overhyped Cradle Metal to me. From my point of view, it seems like Asguard thought they could make it big by copying the style of other successful "black metal" acts, but sadly for them, it doesn't work. This isn't the extreme metal release of the year. This may not even be the best "black metal" from Belarus.

And I put black metal in quotes for a reason. If you consider Cradle Of Filth black metal, then this band would most certainly be black metal. However, Asguard come across more as a black metal band gone awry, featuring some power metal elements under the radar and a definite Cradle-ish approach to the genre. The disordinate compilation of such elements makes Dreamslave a tragically forgettable release, and it won't be any time soon that Asguard captivate American audiences with their lackluster take on the realm of extreme music.
asguard.metal4.com
www.devildollrecords.com/DDR/TDR/frameset.htm

Taylor Green

Got something constructive to say? By all means, rant away. Gonna blab about something unrelated and/or talk shit? Don't expect your comment to stick around.