Review by Death8699 on July 20, 2019.

Solid black/death metal release from Spain. I'm surprised that not a whole lot of people have discovered this band! They play solid metal material that isn't very fast, but quite dark. Their tempos and music have a certain eerie vibe to it. Their compositions, roughly one hour in length, are quite heavy as well as original. The vocalist is actually female, though she can really spurt out some deep throat. I liked every song on this album. Their predecessor I found not to be as interesting as this album. It just has more substance to it and the songwriting is much better on here. Not to mention the raw production quality. It's not raw that much, just enough to make it a dark atmosphere.

I haven't heard many bands like this one. Maybe Belphegor but not as extreme. I'd have to say that I wasn't amused with this release right off the bat. I liked it more and more as I played it multiple times. The music is notorious for its noteworthiness. And the vocals all the way through are brutal. Definitely feeling the vibe here with this one. Only it's hard to find in the US. I would say that this album is one of the top ones that will be in 2018. The reason is because it's so original and intriguing. It's formulated quite well and just all the music between heavy and clean song(s) are all encompassing. Barbarian Prophecies needs to be more well-known!

This onslaught opens up like painting the picture of how well it's going to pan out from start to finish. Don't expect anything "happy" from them, they are too brutal of a band than to think they're going to play anything but dark stuff. The opening starts up as black metal-esque though throughout it's a black/death mix. They change it up as the album progresses. They're totally experimenting with different sounds and melodies. I'd say the music is what strikes home the most. It's brutal but interesting work. I can't say that I didn't like every song, I can say I thought that the mix of black/death made it a very good listen to. And all the different overtures made it most intriguing.

Do yourself a favor and by this album! I can't say enough good things about it because it's just so noteworthy and intriguing to listen to. It was a gem of a release for this year. The music, production and vocals are all unique and they have their own type of groove to them. They far exceeded my expectations as a black/death band. Their music and wholly intriguing litany of songs definitely hits home with me. This album is somewhat hard to find though, you might have to go on Google to find a site that supplies their album. They aren't on Spotify either, only their previous album is. They're from Spain so you may have to find a site other than Amazon to order it. Do it!

Rating: 8.5 out of 10

Review by JD on May 30, 2012.

It seems to me from time to time that Progressive Metal comes at me in waves. I have a few Prog Metal acts waiting for my off-beat way of looking at music in a pile on my desk. That means I have to get going, I guess. From the wonderful country of Spain, comes Father Golem - an act that has had some great acclaim thrown at them.

Born when members of the Spanish metal band Bajo Zero (not the ‘Bajo Zero’ from Venezuela) decided to go about things a little different. Going more for a Progressive style with some metal links, they released two other albums that were well received by critics and metalheads alike. They then brought out the album, "I/O", to light.

Mixing in some Jazz, and using a string quartet and other instruments, they push the envelope of Progressive to its breaking point while adding in a good healthy dose of metal as well. Sounds interesting in the surface, yet in many spots it is very confusing and loses the momentum they have made. In the crush of trying to expand their musical envelope, they loose connection with the listener and what they are doing. Even seasoned musicians (I am of many years) do lose interest due to the over playing and over thinking of the music that Father Golem does.

This album will appeal only to the hard-core musicians and very jaded journalists but will alienate the bulk of the scene out there. They have this massive amount of talent that literally oozes everywhere so a little more ‘simplified’ version of themselves along with a straight ahead attack would go a long way. I don’t mean a full dive into the pool of mediocre metal, just a tweak that will bring the masses their way. It is a good album, but unreachable for most.

Categorical Rating Breakdown

Musicianship:9
Atmosphere: 6
Production: 8
Originality: 9
Overall: 7

Rating: 7.8 out of 10