Merchants Of Air
  • Home
  • Reviews
    • Albums
    • Concerts
  • Premieres
  • Interviews
  • Giveaways
  • Playlists
  • Shop
    • Merchants Of Air releases
  • About us
    • About Us
    • Writers Wanted
    • Logos and banner
    • Advertise
    • Mailinglist

Zardens - Blackness Unfolds

15/9/2015

Comments

 
black metal / death metal
Satanath
facebook
Picture
Foto
Well well, my patriotism is kicking up again.  Once again a Belgian band reaches our headquarders and once again I'm tapping along with the rhythm of the music.  Some people might know that, politically, our country is divided into a Flemish (Dutch speaking) and a Walloon (French speaking) side.  Musically however, Belgium stands as one, opposing the forces that try to tear us apart completely.  True, we might not always know about the bands on the other side, but when we discover them, it's usually love at first sight.

Zardens hails from Liège, a city that has pleasantly surprised us a lot in the past.  By now it seems to me that Liège shows a thriving metal scene and Zardens surely is a part of that scene.  The band was founded in 2008 by Warnacht (former member of Moribund and Ex Delirium).  After their debut in 2012, Zardens was asked to support Immolation.  'Blackness Unfolds' was recorded in 2013 but line-up problems left the album on the shelf until now.  Too bad, to be honest, because this is an excellent blend of black & death metal.

The album opens with 'Battle Rite', the intro and blasts off with 'The Berzerker'. Very soon I'm reminded of the forerunners of the Belgian black metal scene, Ancient Rites.  Fast-paced and aggressive but melodic and immersive, those seem to be key-elements for Zardens.  Influences from nineties Scandinavian bands are also very present, turning the whole into a well-varied and well-written album.  'Reborn' digs a bit deeper into grinding death metal, especially with the massive sound of the guitars.

The album never lets go if its grip.  In stead it keeps on blasting these complex but ravishing songs through my speakers.  Other highlights are the thrashy 'Slave To The Moon' and the brutal 'Lifeblood'.  Yet, it's hard to pick these favorites.  Each of these songs shows a great deal of songwriting and craftsmanship and obviously also experience.  In my opinion, it's about time this band crosses the language barrier (since all the songs are in English anyway) and follow Ancient Rites on their path to dominate Europe.


Serge
Comments
    subscribe to our newsletter

    Genres

    All
    Acoustic
    Alternative
    Ambient
    Avant Garde
    Avant-garde
    Black Metal
    Blues
    Children
    Classical
    Country
    Crust
    Dark Ambient
    Dark Jazz
    Darkwave
    Death Metal
    Doom
    Dream Pop
    Drone
    Drum & Bass
    Dub
    Dubstep
    EBM
    Electro
    Electronic
    Ethereal
    Experimental
    Folk
    Folk Metal
    Funk
    Gothic
    Grindcore
    Grunge
    Hardcore
    Hard Rock
    Heavy Metal
    Hip Hop
    Hip-hop
    Idm
    Indie
    Industrial
    Instrumental
    Jazz
    Krautrock
    Martial
    Math Rock
    Metal
    Metalcore
    Neo Classical
    Neo-classical
    Neo Folk
    Neo-folk
    Noise
    Noise Rock
    Noise-rock
    Nu Metal
    Nu-metal
    Opera
    Pop
    Post Metal
    Post Punk
    Post Rock
    Progressive
    Psychedelic
    Psytrance
    Punk
    Reggae
    Rock
    Score
    Shoegaze
    Singer/songwriter
    Sludge
    Soul
    Southern Rock
    Speed Metal
    Stoner
    Symphonic Metal
    Synthpop
    Techno
    Thrash
    Triphop
    Trip-hop
    World

    Archives

    July 2017
    May 2017
    April 2017
    March 2017
    February 2017
    January 2017
    December 2016
    November 2016
    October 2016
    September 2016
    August 2016
    July 2016
    June 2016
    May 2016
    April 2016
    March 2016
    February 2016
    January 2016
    December 2015
    November 2015
    October 2015
    September 2015
    August 2015
    July 2015
    June 2015
    May 2015
    April 2015
    March 2015

Find us on

facebook
google+
twitter
tumblr
​
minds

About Us

Contact
FAQ
Logos and banners
© COPYRIGHT 2015. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.