Beast in Black - Berserker Review

By -


Concise Summary:

WOW!!! This might just be not only the best debut album of the year, but also the album of the year, and I'm not just saying that. Berserker by Beast in Black is so dang good I'm surprised my ceiling doesn't have a hole in it after I listened to the album for the first time! Every single song on this album is just straight up GLORIOUS! There isn't a single one that I disliked. Also, the vocals on this album.... I'm legitimately blown away. The first time I heard Yannis Papadopoulos sing I was watching Beast in Black's first music video (at least first to my knowledge), Blind and Frozen. When the video cut to Yannis singing, I actually thought he was lip-syncing a woman, but then he started in with the high-compression vocals and I realized his voice is just that diverse! I actually can't believe how good of a vocalist he is - probably top 10 vocalists of all time in my book, maybe top 5. Along with the incredible vocals on this album, the instrumentals are just... wow. The founder of the band, Anton Kabanen, used to play guitar (and sing?) for Battle Beast, another band that I really love. I can definitely hear the Battle Beast songwriting influence in this album, and it's GREAT!!! Overall, I'm just blown away. This might be the best debut album I've ever heard - definitely one of the best albums I've ever heard, period - and I can't WAIT to hear more from Beast in Black! 

My Rating: 10 out of 10


Highlights:
  • VOCALS!!!!!!!!!
  • Overall really fun sound
  • Great mixing actually. It is especially impressive because of all the instruments that are sometimes playing in unison - I didn't notice any ear fatigue. 
  • A surprising amount of songwriting diversity - there are a few slow, methodical parts/songs instead of a continual straight up barrage of sound - very mature approach.
  • The lyrics are actually not stupid! 
Lowlights:
  • Being an anti-manga kind of person, I was a little triggered when I found out that this album is somehow related to the manga Berserk. However, that's probably what kept the lyrics from being just straight up drivel like a lot of the albums this year, so I guess I will appreciate it. Also, the album is just so dang good, I can't really take points off for being related to something that I personally don't care for. ;P
Favorite Songs:
  • Wait, there were songs on the album that I didn't like????
  • Beast in Black
  • Blind and Frozen
  • Blood of a Lion
  • Born Again
  • Eternal Fire
  • End of the World
  • Ghost in the Rain 
  • Listen to the whole album though, really. 
More Info:

Beast in Black Official Website

Beast in Black Facebook

Beast in Black Twitter

Support these guys like crazy! Buy this album!!!

Comments

  1. A.J. SpaudeNovember 3, 2017 at 9:40 PM

    Please follow me on Twitter @BPMetalReviews to stay updated on when new reviews drop! I really appreciate you guys reading these reviews. I'm trying to get a following and hopefully make some income to help pay for college, but that might be a long shot.... Hey, if any of you have reviews you'd like done, leave a comment!

    ReplyDelete
  2. A.J. SpaudeNovember 7, 2017 at 11:45 AM

    Also be sure to follow me on Facebook https://www.facebook.com/BPMetalReviews/

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

The Unguided - And The Battle Royale Review

By -
Image
Concise Summary: The Unguided is a band that has apparently been around for quite awhile, but I just found them today. After listening to their newest album, And The Battle Royale, I think I'll be listening to more of their music in the future! And The Battle Royale has fairly synth-driven songs with both clean and screamed vocals. The style is almost like synth-driven metalcore, which I think is a pretty cool and unique concept. That being said, And The Battle Royale doesn't display much style diversity - most of the album is pretty much only has that metalcore-ish sound. As a result, a lot of the songs sound very similar, making the album seem kind of "flat", if you will; the songs seem to run together. Overall, this is a very good album, and I really enjoyed listening to it, but the style diversity is lacking.  My Rating: 8.5 out of 10 Highlights: Excellent vocals Interesting musical style Enjoyable overall sound and feel to the album
Read more

Red - Gone Review

By -
Image
Concise Summary: In my opinion, Release the Panic back in 2013 was a style transition album into Of Beauty and Rage, which, in turn, set the tone for Gone. However, I think that Of Beauty and Rage and Gone sound way too similar. Both albums seem to have apocalyptic themes to the lyrics, there's a lot of synth, the drums are electronic, there are really no technical guitar parts, and the singing is generally quiet with a few screams thrown in for some variety. Granted, it's a pretty unique sound, but having Of Beauty and Rage and Gone sound so similar, especially with regard to lyrical themes, is just... boring. In my opinion, each album should tell a different story, but Gone just seems to tell the same story that Of Beauty and Rage told: a vague, apocalyptic, dark, and fairly hopeless story. Because the story is so vague, it's not even like a two-part continuation. Apart from the story (or lack thereof), Gone is probably a better album than Of Beauty and Rage.
Read more

Like Moths to Flames - Dark Divine Review

By -
Image
Concise Summary: Well, here's another band that I haven't listened to very much. I've heard of Like Moths to Flames, but haven't explored their music very much. As such, I can't really say if this album is better, worse, or the same as their previous albums. However, what I can say is that I was pretty indifferent to Dark Divine. The first thing that really stood out to me is how little bass is in the mix on the album. I'm not sure if that's the new sound for metalcore, because Phinehas seems to be doing a similar mix on their new album Dark Flag (which I'm definitely going to review on this site). That mix sounded really weird at first, but I got used to it after awhile, and I would say it's definitely not a bad sound. As for the actual music on Dark Divine, I would say I was unimpressed. It definitely wasn't bad, and there are a few spots where it's really good, but I was left feeling like I just ate a piece of bread with nothi
Read more