Review by Adam M on November 1, 2016.

Cult of Luna performs their take on post-metal yet again with Mariner. The music here is quite addicting in its grooves and gyrations. The riffs are huge and complemented by two vocal styles now. There is the standard Cult of Luna vocalist, but also now the added emphasis of Julie Christmas. She makes these songs sound more eerie. The remainder of the music is atmospheric and manages to sound industrial in nature as well.

The whole ensemble is something intriguing and interesting to listen to. This album is one that gets progressively better as it goes along. The song Cygnus goes through several movements and has a huge crescendo that is spectacular to behold. A number of more minor tracks build up to this moment through the post-metal style that is very encompassing. They have intense moments in them that also build up to a climax. However, it is the final track where everything comes together on this disc. It is there that the potential of the album is finally fulfilled. It’s as if the smaller moments in the other tracks have a purpose and are put to use through the final monster of a song on this album. The music has various moods, but the outlook is fairly bleak and sterile sounding. This has always been the case with Cult of Luna albums and the trend continues here. The music still doesn’t have quite the epic buildup that its predecessor Vertikal had and is a small step down.

Still, with the music of Cult of Luna you can still expect an excellent album that’s completely grand in nature. Mariner is just not quite as memorable of emphatic as the last album. The songs of Cult of Luna are still drenched in feeling and moves along at a fairly slow, yet impactful pace. This music comes recommended for fans of the band.

Rating: 8.5 out 10

Review by Krys on July 19, 2006.

"Black Wings of Destiny" is a sophomore release from this symphonic black metal act Dragonlord. Obvious comparisons can be made to Dimmu Borgir, Cradle Of Fitlth or Old Man's Child but Peterson and Co. do it so well that "Black Wings..." overshadows every release from those bands over last 4-5 years. Peterson with Steve Smyth (Nevermore, ex-Testament) are delivering crushing riffs perfectly meshed with symphonic keyboards played by Livingston and supported by tight rhythm section of drummer Jon Allen (Sadus) and bassist Derek Ramirez (ex-Testament). With this musical background "Black Wings of Destiny" is heavily influenced by Bay Area thrash scene that adds distinctive element to their sound and showcases musical abilities of band's members. Every aspect is taken to the highest level and coupled together at times reminds me of high days of Arcturus. Even covers are done so well that if you don't pay attention you might think they're Dragonlord own songs. Fans of melodic and symphonic black metal will find a lot to like on this album and before mentioned bands will have a lot of work to do if they want to catch up to Dragonlord.

Categorical Rating Breakdown

Musicianship: 10
Atmosphere: 8
Production: 10
Originality: 7
Overall: 9

Rating: 8.8 out of 10