Review by Aaron on July 11, 2005.

More than three years after their sophomore album Quietus came out, Funeral Doomsters Evoken finally return with Antithesis of Light, an album that continues where the last album left off as well as creating a very different sound at the same time. The atmospheric reverb is still present, creating a cavernous feel to the album. However, they don’t rely on it as much as they did on Quietus, creating a much more aggressive sound. Furthermore, the songs on this album don’t have the lumbering slowness of the preceding album as a major factor. Where Quietus was a slow yet unstoppable force, Antithesis of Light uses razor-sharp blast beats and less down-tuned guitars in it’s arsenal. Even the vocals have a more harsh, less patient tone to them. Consider Quietus to be Evoken waking up in the morning and Antithesis of Light to be them after the first cup of coffee. Right from the get-go with “In Solitary Ruin”, the listener is accosted by the twin forces of somberness and anger for a sound that pulls you in two different directions at once while at the same time synthesizing into a greater whole that stands as a definitive unique sound.

One thing I do respect Evoken for is their capability to consistently write incredibly long songs that do not bore the listener. These songs are long, we’re talking Opeth-long here. Barring the quick musical intro at the beginning of the album, none of the seven songs on the album clock in at under ten minutes long. In a day and age where attention deficiency reigns, this is a hard quality to maintain if you hope to keep a listenership if you’re not going to make it interesting enough for them to stick around for. Evoken has that base covered, creating musical peaks and valleys that maintain a consistency that is strong enough to keep the songs from going all over the place without falling into redundant patterns that leaves you wondering why the song didn’t end four minutes ago. While the album coming in at around 70+ minutes, the album goes by at a speed that is surprising.

Antithesis of Light shows Evoken to be a band that knows what aspects of their sound can be further expanded and refined and also how to inject new qualities in without disrupting the main foundation of their sound. I look forward to future recordings by them, I just hope I don’t have to wait another three fucking years for it.

Categorical Rating Breakdown

Musicianship: 8
Atmosphere: 10
Production: 8
Originality: 9
Overall: 9

Rating: 8.8 out of 10