Review by Denis on May 9, 2003.

It's hard to believe that Blood Red Throne and Green Carnation are both the brainchildren of the same composer! What a big difference in style! This beast was created in order to journey back to his roots in the death metal realm. Well he succeeded, and in a very violent way I might add.

Blood Red Throne is so aggressive that the entire product is filled with blood spilling all over the place, on the cover art, the musicians shot dead in blood bath and even the CD itself has blood on it. So what do we have here? Raw, aggressive, fast tempo, deep death vocals with a good production work thanks to Endre Kirkesola. An incredibly good rhythmic section is bound to keep many headbangers happy. But what struck me the most is the ever-changing mode of these well-executed complicated violent musical phrases. Of course the obvious thing to notice is the superb guitar work either in the shape of riffs, lead and solos involved. Some samplings and slower passages also will give your head a break such as in songs like 'The Children shall Endure' or 'Dream Controlled Murder.' My personal favorite one is 'Ravenous War Machine' for all the elements described above plus the addition of a superb lead guitar run and a great guitar sound effect as it ends.

Bottom Line: Intricate and extreme fundamental metal work.

Categorical Rating Breakdown

Musicianship: 9
Atmosphere: 8
Production: 8.5
Originality: 7
Overall: 7

Rating: 7.9 out of 10

Review by Krys on December 12, 2001.

Just to make sure that you won’t think I went crazy, Blood Red Throne is not the first band that plays death metal in Norway but somehow as frequently as we use the term ‘Swedish Death’ we don’t do this with Norway. Well then, from now on we have ‘Norwegian Death’ and believe me it doesn’t yield anything from its bigger and more famous neighbor.

So what does ‘Norwegian Death’ sound like? When operating in the hyper-fast areas of their songs, the main riff ideas come from a black metal book, while the mid-paced to slow areas are borrowed from Florida’s death scene with a too long list of influences to mention. Tchort (Green Carnation, Emperor, Satyricon, Einherjer) teamed up with Dod (Satyricon) and behind very well written riffs they unwind their talents for 40 min of nonstop rage and aggression. And I mean a whole 40 minutes; even breaks between tracks are suppressed to a half of a second so you won’t have time to pick your teeth up from the floor because the new blow is already landing on your face. Sweet, just the way we like it. Thanks to an excellent production from Berno studio, “Monument of Death” sounds raw, like good old school death metal but has a crisp and clear sound making it sound unbelievably tight.

The only flaw, if I can actually call it a flaw, is too much copying and not enough of its own, new ideas. If during most of the material you can’t hear Decide, Cannibal Corpse, Death or old Slayer, I suggest checking the honey in you ears for clearer reception of outside tones. The reason I said ‘if I can actually call it a flaw’ is because those guys with full knowledge and intention used those influences and simply had fun writing and playing kick ass death metal they grew up listening to.

And quick note for special edition collectors, the first 1000 CD's will come in a suicide-kit and will be hand numbered with real blood of the band members and a razor blade.

Bottom Line: “Monument of Death” will satisfy any metal fan craving for untainted fury not disturbed by any keyboards or computer samples.

Categorical Rating Breakdown

Musicianship: 9
Atmosphere: 8
Production: 10
Originality: 6
Overall: 8

Rating: 8.2 out of 10

Review by Jack on August 25, 2003.

Bursting forth at the seams with ripe musical intensity, Silent Edge are a symphonic progressive band I am surprised to have not heard a lot more from. They have been around for some six years, yet took that much time to finally put out their debut record in "The Eyes of the Shadow."

However, good things come to those who wait and "The Eyes of the Shadow" is most definitely a record to watch out for. In a nutshell, Silent Edge have taken the technical wizardry of bands like Symphony X and Dream Theatre, (Silent Edge have been really, really blessed in the musical ability department) and merged them with a calm and collected mentality towards their songwriting and obvious talents, resulting in an –album- that is a real joy to be a part of. Not a loose grouping of songs that are tacked together for the sake of getting out an album, but an actual record that is as strong from the opening number as it is when it closes with 'Rebellion (The Awakening).'

Content not to blow their proverbial musical load with the opening track, Silent Edge hold an unusual ability to really captivate a listener and tease out their prolific ability at being able to write a mesmerising riff, hook, ballad, chorus etc, etc. Now this is all well and good if you're a band that can do it here and there, but it means diddly-squat if you can't do it consistently, which herein lies the obviously apparent ability of Silent Edge.

The second piece of the puzzle is that once you have the capability to write an addictive album, it just remains for you to execute your material that you composed. And in Silent Edge's case this is a no-brainer. Exquisite technical skills, complemented perfectly by the vast vocal abilities of Willem Verwoert make for a pretty appetising musical course that should not be missed.

Bottom Line: Far too good an opportunity to miss out on. "The Eyes of the Shadow" is a stellar debut record full of dizzy solos, melodious vocals and rhythmic drumming throughout ten tracks. Clocking in at just over an hour Silent Edge's debut record will be sure to see you racking up weeks and weeks worth of constant rotation.

Categorical Rating Breakdown

Musicianship: 9
Atmosphere: 7
Production: 8.5
Originality: 8
Overall: 7.5

Rating: 8 out of 10