Review by Emma on June 23, 2010.

Trudging, epic, heavy…Heavy Doom from Dartmoor, England. The Wounded Kings present their second full-length "The Shadow Over Atlantis".

Foreboding guitars take the listener through the cosmos to the murky realm of Atlantis. George Birch’s (one of two founding members) ominous vocal style rides the coattails of Messiah Marcolin, but do not taking center stage in the same way. There’s a balance throughout this album between the vocals and the instruments in taking the main stage, helping prevent The Wounded Kings from falling face-first into the muddy tracks of their influences. Their gimpy-turtle tempo also falls out of pattern with earlier doom acts; really The Wounded Kings are picking up the scepter of funereal heaviness that Reverend Bizarre put down. Sounds outside of guitar, bass and drums are kept at the bare minimum, including only Steve Mills (the other founder) on piano. Besides cosmic or psychedelic I would also use the word stonerrrific to describe some of what’s going on with "The Shadow Over Atlantis" particularly with the second track ‘Baptism Of Atlantis,’ which I thought would be more funeral doomy in sound based on the subject, because we all know how that turned out, but it just so happens to be one of the less-depressing tracks of the album.

The ‘sales information’ from the label describes "The Shadow Over Atlantis" as being a warning cry to folks today to not repeat what the citizens of Atlantis did by abandoning their spiritual lives. I need not tell the story of what happened to them for you to get The Wounded King’s point. I can’t say I read that idea specifically from the music or the lyrics, but certainly the image of a bent man on a soapbox came to my mind once the vocals let loose. So they’re getting there but I’d suggest a Blakean manifesto to get beyond the purely narrative impression. So two ideas to walk away with here: 1.) Doomsters-go buy this album 2.) We’re all Doomed.

Categorical Rating Breakdown

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

Rating: 8.5 out of 10

Review by Felix on December 11, 2023.

Here comes Dethroned, another black metal formation from Germany that intends to implement fear in the hearts of the audience. A Bridge To Eternal Darkness is suitably released by Dominance of Darkness. This completely dark surrounding is a first indication that we cannot expect much more than generic black metal. And that’s the way it is. This approach can be very exciting, but it can also be somewhat tiring. A Bridge To Eternal Darkness, the second album of my compatriots, has found its place somewhere between these poles.

The technical preconditions are okay. The album scores with an appropriate, solid sound, although the drums, especially the snare, could be a bit more powerful. Anyway, the guitars are in the driver’s seat and the diabolic voice joins the endless ranks of similarly sounding genre vocalists. Charisma is a rare commodity here, but the vocalist also does not disappoint. The music itself is slightly more problematic. The opener 'Come To Me' with its flattening guitars and the galloping drums sounds promising and menacing. The legions of the devil seem to be on another unholy crusade, but the quality of the opener does unfortunately not represent the class of the entire album. Already the next track falls by the wayside with its loose melody line and its lack of exciting moments. Too bad that more tracks, 'Colour Out Of Space' for instance, suffer from the same disease.

A general problem of the album is the lack of intensity. Of course, there are some parts where the band unleashes a musical storm, but compared to Marduk’s “Memento Mori” or similar works, Dethroned’s storm is just a heavy breeze. Of course, there is not only one way to perform black metal, but here is no compensation for the low degree of intensity. Paradoxically, some parts of the thrilling cover version at the album’s end shows how it could have been much more intense. A few atmospheric sequences seem out of place and do not add value to the material. And any kind of unique elements (think of Malokarpatan’s “Vetumnus Caesar”) does not show up as well. I regret this, because the band has the potential to write strong, coherent and well flowing songs. 'Ruf Der Tiefe' is a strong number, with driving guitars and a more or less memorable chorus. But three impressive songs alone do not shape an impressive album, right? Aggravating the situation, some parts just do not work, for example the solemn vocals at the end of the title track.

All in all, A Bridge To Eternal Darkness leaves more room for optimization than I thought. It’s definitely no useless work and I do not have the feeling that I have wasted my time while diving into the full-length. Nevertheless, in view of the constantly flooded market, I fear this album will fall on deaf ears.

Rating: 5.8 out of 10

Review by Felix on December 11, 2023.

Here comes Dethroned, another black metal formation from Germany that intends to implement fear in the hearts of the audience. A Bridge To Eternal Darkness is suitably released by Dominance of Darkness. This completely dark surrounding is a first indication that we cannot expect much more than generic black metal. And that’s the way it is. This approach can be very exciting, but it can also be somewhat tiring. A Bridge To Eternal Darkness, the second album of my compatriots, has found its place somewhere between these poles.

The technical preconditions are okay. The album scores with an appropriate, solid sound, although the drums, especially the snare, could be a bit more powerful. Anyway, the guitars are in the driver’s seat and the diabolic voice joins the endless ranks of similarly sounding genre vocalists. Charisma is a rare commodity here, but the vocalist also does not disappoint. The music itself is slightly more problematic. The opener 'Come To Me' with its flattening guitars and the galloping drums sounds promising and menacing. The legions of the devil seem to be on another unholy crusade, but the quality of the opener does unfortunately not represent the class of the entire album. Already the next track falls by the wayside with its loose melody line and its lack of exciting moments. Too bad that more tracks, 'Colour Out Of Space' for instance, suffer from the same disease.

A general problem of the album is the lack of intensity. Of course, there are some parts where the band unleashes a musical storm, but compared to Marduk’s “Memento Mori” or similar works, Dethroned’s storm is just a heavy breeze. Of course, there is not only one way to perform black metal, but here is no compensation for the low degree of intensity. Paradoxically, some parts of the thrilling cover version at the album’s end shows how it could have been much more intense. A few atmospheric sequences seem out of place and do not add value to the material. And any kind of unique elements (think of Malokarpatan’s “Vetumnus Caesar”) does not show up as well. I regret this, because the band has the potential to write strong, coherent and well flowing songs. 'Ruf Der Tiefe' is a strong number, with driving guitars and a more or less memorable chorus. But three impressive songs alone do not shape an impressive album, right? Aggravating the situation, some parts just do not work, for example the solemn vocals at the end of the title track.

All in all, A Bridge To Eternal Darkness leaves more room for optimization than I thought. It’s definitely no useless work and I do not have the feeling that I have wasted my time while diving into the full-length. Nevertheless, in view of the constantly flooded market, I fear this album will fall on deaf ears.

Rating: 5.8 out of 10

Review by Felix on December 11, 2023.

Here comes Dethroned, another black metal formation from Germany that intends to implement fear in the hearts of the audience. A Bridge To Eternal Darkness is suitably released by Dominance of Darkness. This completely dark surrounding is a first indication that we cannot expect much more than generic black metal. And that’s the way it is. This approach can be very exciting, but it can also be somewhat tiring. A Bridge To Eternal Darkness, the second album of my compatriots, has found its place somewhere between these poles.

The technical preconditions are okay. The album scores with an appropriate, solid sound, although the drums, especially the snare, could be a bit more powerful. Anyway, the guitars are in the driver’s seat and the diabolic voice joins the endless ranks of similarly sounding genre vocalists. Charisma is a rare commodity here, but the vocalist also does not disappoint. The music itself is slightly more problematic. The opener 'Come To Me' with its flattening guitars and the galloping drums sounds promising and menacing. The legions of the devil seem to be on another unholy crusade, but the quality of the opener does unfortunately not represent the class of the entire album. Already the next track falls by the wayside with its loose melody line and its lack of exciting moments. Too bad that more tracks, 'Colour Out Of Space' for instance, suffer from the same disease.

A general problem of the album is the lack of intensity. Of course, there are some parts where the band unleashes a musical storm, but compared to Marduk’s “Memento Mori” or similar works, Dethroned’s storm is just a heavy breeze. Of course, there is not only one way to perform black metal, but here is no compensation for the low degree of intensity. Paradoxically, some parts of the thrilling cover version at the album’s end shows how it could have been much more intense. A few atmospheric sequences seem out of place and do not add value to the material. And any kind of unique elements (think of Malokarpatan’s “Vetumnus Caesar”) does not show up as well. I regret this, because the band has the potential to write strong, coherent and well flowing songs. 'Ruf Der Tiefe' is a strong number, with driving guitars and a more or less memorable chorus. But three impressive songs alone do not shape an impressive album, right? Aggravating the situation, some parts just do not work, for example the solemn vocals at the end of the title track.

All in all, A Bridge To Eternal Darkness leaves more room for optimization than I thought. It’s definitely no useless work and I do not have the feeling that I have wasted my time while diving into the full-length. Nevertheless, in view of the constantly flooded market, I fear this album will fall on deaf ears.

Rating: 5.8 out of 10

Review by Felix on December 11, 2023.

Here comes Dethroned, another black metal formation from Germany that intends to implement fear in the hearts of the audience. A Bridge To Eternal Darkness is suitably released by Dominance of Darkness. This completely dark surrounding is a first indication that we cannot expect much more than generic black metal. And that’s the way it is. This approach can be very exciting, but it can also be somewhat tiring. A Bridge To Eternal Darkness, the second album of my compatriots, has found its place somewhere between these poles.

The technical preconditions are okay. The album scores with an appropriate, solid sound, although the drums, especially the snare, could be a bit more powerful. Anyway, the guitars are in the driver’s seat and the diabolic voice joins the endless ranks of similarly sounding genre vocalists. Charisma is a rare commodity here, but the vocalist also does not disappoint. The music itself is slightly more problematic. The opener 'Come To Me' with its flattening guitars and the galloping drums sounds promising and menacing. The legions of the devil seem to be on another unholy crusade, but the quality of the opener does unfortunately not represent the class of the entire album. Already the next track falls by the wayside with its loose melody line and its lack of exciting moments. Too bad that more tracks, 'Colour Out Of Space' for instance, suffer from the same disease.

A general problem of the album is the lack of intensity. Of course, there are some parts where the band unleashes a musical storm, but compared to Marduk’s “Memento Mori” or similar works, Dethroned’s storm is just a heavy breeze. Of course, there is not only one way to perform black metal, but here is no compensation for the low degree of intensity. Paradoxically, some parts of the thrilling cover version at the album’s end shows how it could have been much more intense. A few atmospheric sequences seem out of place and do not add value to the material. And any kind of unique elements (think of Malokarpatan’s “Vetumnus Caesar”) does not show up as well. I regret this, because the band has the potential to write strong, coherent and well flowing songs. 'Ruf Der Tiefe' is a strong number, with driving guitars and a more or less memorable chorus. But three impressive songs alone do not shape an impressive album, right? Aggravating the situation, some parts just do not work, for example the solemn vocals at the end of the title track.

All in all, A Bridge To Eternal Darkness leaves more room for optimization than I thought. It’s definitely no useless work and I do not have the feeling that I have wasted my time while diving into the full-length. Nevertheless, in view of the constantly flooded market, I fear this album will fall on deaf ears.

Rating: 5.8 out of 10