Review by Adam on January 6, 2005.

Avenged Sevenfold is like an eighties metal band in a modern metal band’s body. Waking the Fallen is a little bit of the new wave of American metal with more than its fair share of 80s metal guitar and vocal tributes, yet it still feels fresh and new. Avenged Sevenfold are looking to surpass their contemporaries and forge into new territory.

The standard Gothenburg harmonies still apply here as they do with many of the new American metal acts, but Avenged Sevenfold really comes into their own on Waking The Fallen. The music melds melodic punk and both traditional and modern metal with ease. It is no wonder why so many people are falling in love with this band. The vocals are what truly set Avenged Sevenfold apart from the rest of the modern metal pack. The guy’s range and versatility is simply outstanding. The perfect example of this is on the epic track “I Won’t See You Tonight Part 1.” All I can say is wow!

Avenged Sevenfold has a bright future ahead of them. They are terrific musicians and their songwriting skills continue to improve. Just a short year after their debut they come back with more focus and strength. Waking The Fallen is over an hour in length and worth every minute of your attention.

Categorical Rating Breakdown

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

Rating: 8.2 out of 10

Review by Alex on January 21, 2020.

Lik past member of Bekëth Nexëhmü and current member of Svartrit emerges from the dark to aid in conjuring a chill making harsher a winter that already arrives with frostbitten intentions. As far as Swartadauþuz, I don't think he can be credited enough for his sheer musical genius given his involvement with so many other projects of his such as Summum, Azelisassath, etc, all of which have high regard in this obscure surrounding. The duo have joined forces to bless us with yet another spellbinding, stalagmite-pierced masterpiece under the moniker of Greve titled Nordarikets Strid. All of the winter’s chill, the moon’s mystical luminescence and the symphonies of the night are held captive for 40 minutes and given musical embrace.

An aching atmosphere rests upon every song as it swells, swallowing the aura and replacing it with the most dramatic yet tranquil of symphonies. Bitterly-grieving yet sinister vocals casts a chilling temperature over the music giving massive support to the overall landscaping guitar riffs and keyboard synth. From a perspective you're inclined to stand back in gasping awe, observe and absorb the utmost labor with which this labyrinth of lunar delights has been crafted with. Too vast to measure with common vocabulary, the grandiose of ‘Vid Dödens Tröskel’, ‘Det Gamla Rikets Ruin’ or ‘Offerbål till Gudarna’ are to the ears painful yet dripping with a magic only the duo can achieve. The combined immensity of synthesized looming choirs, grieving-passion-felt vocals and constant enraptured riffing goes a distance incalculable to the average listener/critic. Ideal music for the long merciless winter season, frigid all through leaving no room for any sort of warmth to enter.

It's unbelievable the level of prowess that is displayed on Nordarikets Strid; both artist deliver on the expectations and standards that have come to be the norm whenever either is involved with any particular project. Bulls-eye symphonic black metal craft to behold here, never waning, always eventful in moving the listener from place to place. Nordarikets Strid holds an archaic beauty within its frozen moonlit abode, harsh yet elegantly poetic thus shunning the shallow attempts of peasant bands past and present. Purity Through Fire has its sights set on the throne, with releases such as this under their banner they pose a serious threat to other distros. What else is there to come from the duo of Swartadauþuz and Lik remains to be revealed. For now enjoy the serenades to a devastatingly frigid winter blizzard perpetrated by this sub-zero-ice hammer of Nordarikets Strid.

Rating: 9 out of 10

Review by Alex on January 21, 2020.

Lik past member of Bekëth Nexëhmü and current member of Svartrit emerges from the dark to aid in conjuring a chill making harsher a winter that already arrives with frostbitten intentions. As far as Swartadauþuz, I don't think he can be credited enough for his sheer musical genius given his involvement with so many other projects of his such as Summum, Azelisassath, etc, all of which have high regard in this obscure surrounding. The duo have joined forces to bless us with yet another spellbinding, stalagmite-pierced masterpiece under the moniker of Greve titled Nordarikets Strid. All of the winter’s chill, the moon’s mystical luminescence and the symphonies of the night are held captive for 40 minutes and given musical embrace.

An aching atmosphere rests upon every song as it swells, swallowing the aura and replacing it with the most dramatic yet tranquil of symphonies. Bitterly-grieving yet sinister vocals casts a chilling temperature over the music giving massive support to the overall landscaping guitar riffs and keyboard synth. From a perspective you're inclined to stand back in gasping awe, observe and absorb the utmost labor with which this labyrinth of lunar delights has been crafted with. Too vast to measure with common vocabulary, the grandiose of ‘Vid Dödens Tröskel’, ‘Det Gamla Rikets Ruin’ or ‘Offerbål till Gudarna’ are to the ears painful yet dripping with a magic only the duo can achieve. The combined immensity of synthesized looming choirs, grieving-passion-felt vocals and constant enraptured riffing goes a distance incalculable to the average listener/critic. Ideal music for the long merciless winter season, frigid all through leaving no room for any sort of warmth to enter.

It's unbelievable the level of prowess that is displayed on Nordarikets Strid; both artist deliver on the expectations and standards that have come to be the norm whenever either is involved with any particular project. Bulls-eye symphonic black metal craft to behold here, never waning, always eventful in moving the listener from place to place. Nordarikets Strid holds an archaic beauty within its frozen moonlit abode, harsh yet elegantly poetic thus shunning the shallow attempts of peasant bands past and present. Purity Through Fire has its sights set on the throne, with releases such as this under their banner they pose a serious threat to other distros. What else is there to come from the duo of Swartadauþuz and Lik remains to be revealed. For now enjoy the serenades to a devastatingly frigid winter blizzard perpetrated by this sub-zero-ice hammer of Nordarikets Strid.

Rating: 9 out of 10

Review by Alex on January 21, 2020.

Lik past member of Bekëth Nexëhmü and current member of Svartrit emerges from the dark to aid in conjuring a chill making harsher a winter that already arrives with frostbitten intentions. As far as Swartadauþuz, I don't think he can be credited enough for his sheer musical genius given his involvement with so many other projects of his such as Summum, Azelisassath, etc, all of which have high regard in this obscure surrounding. The duo have joined forces to bless us with yet another spellbinding, stalagmite-pierced masterpiece under the moniker of Greve titled Nordarikets Strid. All of the winter’s chill, the moon’s mystical luminescence and the symphonies of the night are held captive for 40 minutes and given musical embrace.

An aching atmosphere rests upon every song as it swells, swallowing the aura and replacing it with the most dramatic yet tranquil of symphonies. Bitterly-grieving yet sinister vocals casts a chilling temperature over the music giving massive support to the overall landscaping guitar riffs and keyboard synth. From a perspective you're inclined to stand back in gasping awe, observe and absorb the utmost labor with which this labyrinth of lunar delights has been crafted with. Too vast to measure with common vocabulary, the grandiose of ‘Vid Dödens Tröskel’, ‘Det Gamla Rikets Ruin’ or ‘Offerbål till Gudarna’ are to the ears painful yet dripping with a magic only the duo can achieve. The combined immensity of synthesized looming choirs, grieving-passion-felt vocals and constant enraptured riffing goes a distance incalculable to the average listener/critic. Ideal music for the long merciless winter season, frigid all through leaving no room for any sort of warmth to enter.

It's unbelievable the level of prowess that is displayed on Nordarikets Strid; both artist deliver on the expectations and standards that have come to be the norm whenever either is involved with any particular project. Bulls-eye symphonic black metal craft to behold here, never waning, always eventful in moving the listener from place to place. Nordarikets Strid holds an archaic beauty within its frozen moonlit abode, harsh yet elegantly poetic thus shunning the shallow attempts of peasant bands past and present. Purity Through Fire has its sights set on the throne, with releases such as this under their banner they pose a serious threat to other distros. What else is there to come from the duo of Swartadauþuz and Lik remains to be revealed. For now enjoy the serenades to a devastatingly frigid winter blizzard perpetrated by this sub-zero-ice hammer of Nordarikets Strid.

Rating: 9 out of 10