Review by Alex on September 5, 2020.

Vermisst's first fuller length record, Zmierzch Stalowej Ciemności, sits somewhere between raw, ambient and synth-driven black metal. Their style is predominantly synth driven but if you removed the keyboards you'd end up with a fairly unpolished, abrasive form of black metal. Quite a few Polish bands have been clinging to the dungeon synth inspired form of black metal that has been garnering some amount of praise by supporters that miss the old and austere sound of the era, hence Vermisst may find much appreciation from this group. Zmierzch Stalowej Ciemności possesses that old dimming candle, moonlit beauty, but also seems to pay homage to the exclusively raw conduct of the mid-90s.

Zmierzch Stalowej Ciemności has relatively lengthy tracks with most clocking in at around 5 minutes or more. However, this record really flies by quickly which seems to be result of the fluent incorporation of the keyboard synth, trance-like pacing and the crafty songwriting. Together they play on the listeners sense of time as you're rarely ever distracted from the sublime gaze in effect. 'Zmierzch Stalowej Ciemności' sets the foundation for the rest of tracks to follow (that utilize keyboards), it has a strong sense of rhythmic direction and the vocals take advantage of that with supporting emotion to fortify it's content. Most tracks follow this example with stern commitment to outdo, thus a very melancholic powerhouse is birthed in the form of 'W Pozagrobowej Przestrzeni' that bundles the serene tempo and milieu of the music with the violent and raging vocal wails.

Following the blissful ambient piece 'Det Skjulte', we are greeted by a contrast, a shift in tonality that sees Vermisst focus on a more primal side of black metal the likes of early Darkthrone. The synth is stripped away entirely, and a less decorated hand is put to work. I would have preferred consistency with regards to the instrumentation, thus keeping the keyboards an active element as it would have given the album a greater composite felling. Either way, the songs are plausible due to how effectively they are able to convey a somewhat semi lo-fi raw black metal temperature. 'Frozen Flames of Misanthropy' through to the final track 'Zimowa Aura Krwawych Cieni' displays a rather competent rendition of early raw black metal that I think most enthusiasts of the subgenre will enjoy. The peaking macaw-esque vocals add an inhuman property to the music whilst the sharp riffing and palpating drumming creates a showy weaving of opposing frequencies. The artwork is very good and the production on both raw and synth ends are commendable. Hence, Zmierzch Stalowej Ciemności is a solid record that captures a certain magic of early 90s black metal under one starlit sky.

Rating: 8.2 out of 10

Review by JD on September 11, 2013.

For many years, it seems that Greece is pumping out metal like crazy (On Thorns I Lay, Rotting Christ, etc.). Some of it is pounding heavy and simply amazing - and sometimes the music is basically confusing and barely measures up to being metal. Where on this you land, is not my job, I only write about the album I am charged to do. Let’s see what my blood crazed metallic mind has in store for this act from Greece.

From the country that brought us all Gyros and Ouzo… comes a Darkened Symphonic Metal band called Tales Of The Old. With lyrics that are taken from medieval times, and a varied musical pallet jumping from Symphonic Power Metal to Progressive and even an odd style of attack reminiscent of older Black Metal - Tales Of The Old seem to try to give you a virtual potpourri of metal packaged up neatly on a three song EP.

With just those three songs on this EP, it’s hard to get a decent feel for this band and their music. On the surface, they seem like pretty standard Power Metal with some variations into different genres of metal throughout… it kind of gets confusing though. They are good musicians and the vocals seem to be pretty good as well, but the confusion factor blots that right out and you just have this lump of music with very little heart to it. With more thought and less over-trying this could have been good.

I see so much promise in Tales Of The Old, but the band needs to focus their efforts completely on their take on Power Metal. The other smatterings of styles they have injected are interesting and adds some colour to their music, but when Tales Of The Old do the Power Metal thing straight out and never hides that side of themselves, it is so clear what musical direction they need to go into.

Seeing the purity of Tales Of The Old’s incredible talent seething and building just under the surface of every song, it is clear that they are not firing on all cylinders. The band needs a serious tune-up ASAP.

Categorical Rating Breakdown

Musicianship: 9
Atmosphere: 6
Production: 7
Originality: 5
Overall: 7.5

Rating: 6.9 out of 10