Review by Denis on June 12, 2003.

What did the singer do to deserve this kind of treatment? He's screaming as if he was nailed on a cross and some creature was peeling off his skin! Poor guy! Charger's very first album will give you a hell of a shock. This is not for someone with fragile ears.

So much distortion can get on a man's nerves after a while. No attention has been made to make this recording a piece of art, production wise. Instead, a live sounding ambiance is offered.

And as far as the musical direction is concerned, well I think an attempt to blend together trash-black metal with doom-stoner parts could be a good way to describe the 'feel' of "Confessions of a Man (Mad Enough to Live Amongst Beasts)" a quite long title. Just like, the extended times of the tracks on "Confessions..." some lasting way too long in the 7-8-9 minutes range and pushing the limits to a 13 minute song is close torture when the musical quality is this mundane!

It's not too bad an album if you leave the poor singer and production aside and concentrate more on the heavy doom-stoner edge. Pieces being more attractive are 'God Made Us In The Image Of His Ass', track # 7 (no title) an instrumental and the best effort: 'Chide and Harmonies.'

The most solid points to the record are loud bass, good riffs but the guitars are not loud enough, drums lacking a bit of punch and way too high vocals with too much treble in them. The compositions are very similar, repetitive and go from trashy black to slower doom. This will work probably better for you black metal fans who like raunchy sounding work or the "true" style of bands like Darkthrone for instance.

Bottom Line: A head banging hit with pretty good stoner moments.

Categorical Rating Breakdown

Musicianship: 6
Atmosphere: 6
Originality: 4
Production: 5
Overall: 5

Rating: 5.2 out of 10

Review by Denis on June 12, 2003.

What did the singer do to deserve this kind of treatment? He's screaming as if he was nailed on a cross and some creature was peeling off his skin! Poor guy! Charger's very first album will give you a hell of a shock. This is not for someone with fragile ears.

So much distortion can get on a man's nerves after a while. No attention has been made to make this recording a piece of art, production wise. Instead, a live sounding ambiance is offered.

And as far as the musical direction is concerned, well I think an attempt to blend together trash-black metal with doom-stoner parts could be a good way to describe the 'feel' of "Confessions of a Man (Mad Enough to Live Amongst Beasts)" a quite long title. Just like, the extended times of the tracks on "Confessions..." some lasting way too long in the 7-8-9 minutes range and pushing the limits to a 13 minute song is close torture when the musical quality is this mundane!

It's not too bad an album if you leave the poor singer and production aside and concentrate more on the heavy doom-stoner edge. Pieces being more attractive are 'God Made Us In The Image Of His Ass', track # 7 (no title) an instrumental and the best effort: 'Chide and Harmonies.'

The most solid points to the record are loud bass, good riffs but the guitars are not loud enough, drums lacking a bit of punch and way too high vocals with too much treble in them. The compositions are very similar, repetitive and go from trashy black to slower doom. This will work probably better for you black metal fans who like raunchy sounding work or the "true" style of bands like Darkthrone for instance.

Bottom Line: A head banging hit with pretty good stoner moments.

Categorical Rating Breakdown

Musicianship: 6
Atmosphere: 6
Originality: 4
Production: 5
Overall: 5

Rating: 5.2 out of 10

Review by JD on July 18, 2010.

Originality is not a prerequisite for being good. You can be original, and still end up sounding like total shit (just ask the worst of the 80's hair band Wrathchild America). It helps having some level of originality going on for you, but it can be a huge weight around your neck. Now for the review.

Eternal Tears Of Sorrow is a band made up of a grouping of many varying styles...each of them as extreme as you can get. From Black to Doom and even taking a little from Viking and Neo-Classical metal. Just think if shredmaster Yngwie Malmsteen joined forces with a band such as Cradle Of Filth... and had the musical arrangements of Novembers Doom meets Nightwish.

Each track Eternal Tears Of Sorrow has seems to melt into one, and yet each song is a entity on its own as well. The whole album seems to all flow and ebb as you drift into a world of barbaric pain, abject fear, the bleakest of hopelessness and evil spawned blackness. This album can only be truly described as a blackened symphony that is both soaring angelic and yet hellbound to the fiery pits as well.

"Children Of The Dark Waters" is amazingly heavy, musically sweeping and lyrically quite haunting album that surprises you from the very first track to the last one. The album is so good that no matter what style of metal you normally would like, it will touch a part of you with its brutal grace and undeniable strength. This can be described nearly as classic metal album... an album that people need to hear.

Categorical Rating Breakdown

Musicianship:9
Atmosphere: 9
Production: 9
Originality: 9
Overall: 9

Rating: 9.0 out of 10

Review by JD on July 18, 2010.

Originality is not a prerequisite for being good. You can be original, and still end up sounding like total shit (just ask the worst of the 80's hair band Wrathchild America). It helps having some level of originality going on for you, but it can be a huge weight around your neck. Now for the review.

Eternal Tears Of Sorrow is a band made up of a grouping of many varying styles...each of them as extreme as you can get. From Black to Doom and even taking a little from Viking and Neo-Classical metal. Just think if shredmaster Yngwie Malmsteen joined forces with a band such as Cradle Of Filth... and had the musical arrangements of Novembers Doom meets Nightwish.

Each track Eternal Tears Of Sorrow has seems to melt into one, and yet each song is a entity on its own as well. The whole album seems to all flow and ebb as you drift into a world of barbaric pain, abject fear, the bleakest of hopelessness and evil spawned blackness. This album can only be truly described as a blackened symphony that is both soaring angelic and yet hellbound to the fiery pits as well.

"Children Of The Dark Waters" is amazingly heavy, musically sweeping and lyrically quite haunting album that surprises you from the very first track to the last one. The album is so good that no matter what style of metal you normally would like, it will touch a part of you with its brutal grace and undeniable strength. This can be described nearly as classic metal album... an album that people need to hear.

Categorical Rating Breakdown

Musicianship:9
Atmosphere: 9
Production: 9
Originality: 9
Overall: 9

Rating: 9.0 out of 10

Review by JD on July 18, 2010.

Originality is not a prerequisite for being good. You can be original, and still end up sounding like total shit (just ask the worst of the 80's hair band Wrathchild America). It helps having some level of originality going on for you, but it can be a huge weight around your neck. Now for the review.

Eternal Tears Of Sorrow is a band made up of a grouping of many varying styles...each of them as extreme as you can get. From Black to Doom and even taking a little from Viking and Neo-Classical metal. Just think if shredmaster Yngwie Malmsteen joined forces with a band such as Cradle Of Filth... and had the musical arrangements of Novembers Doom meets Nightwish.

Each track Eternal Tears Of Sorrow has seems to melt into one, and yet each song is a entity on its own as well. The whole album seems to all flow and ebb as you drift into a world of barbaric pain, abject fear, the bleakest of hopelessness and evil spawned blackness. This album can only be truly described as a blackened symphony that is both soaring angelic and yet hellbound to the fiery pits as well.

"Children Of The Dark Waters" is amazingly heavy, musically sweeping and lyrically quite haunting album that surprises you from the very first track to the last one. The album is so good that no matter what style of metal you normally would like, it will touch a part of you with its brutal grace and undeniable strength. This can be described nearly as classic metal album... an album that people need to hear.

Categorical Rating Breakdown

Musicianship:9
Atmosphere: 9
Production: 9
Originality: 9
Overall: 9

Rating: 9.0 out of 10