Quintessence

Artist: Borknagar
Label: Century Media
Category: Music

Average customer rating:

Media: Audio CD
Number Of Discs: 1

UPC: 727701798929
EAN: 0727701798929
ASIN: B00004TDX9

Release Date: 2000-05-23

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Tracks:

Rivalry Of Phantoms
The Presence Of Ominous
Ruins Of The Future
Colossus
Inner Landscape
Invincible
Icon Dreams
Genesis Torn
Embers
Revolt

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Borknagar

Customer Reviews:

"From Out of Static Time Has Grown...".......2005-10-21

Man, I didn't realize how long I've had this album...I'd say about two years or so. Two years. And it spent about 9/10 of that time sitting on my shelf collecting dust. Thank God I decided to give it another listen; it'd still be there if I hadn't.

Borknagar, upon first listen, may sound like just another black metal band. They sure did to me. I saw nothing of revelance to them when compared to other black metal bands, so I put this CD on the shelf and forgot about it. Only a few months ago did I decide to give it another listen, and because I did, I'm now a pretty damn big Borknagar fan.

Yes, the songs are black metal, but different from the standard BM in a very hard to describe way. Let's call them progressive black metal. They are to black metal what "Tales From the Thousand Lakes" era Amorphis was to death metal. They create super complex music with layers of melodies and lyrics that go far beyond that of the typical genres. At the time this record came out, preaching Satan and ranting about killing Christians was the black metal norm. Borknagar dared to write more poetic lyrics. And it succeeded.

The first track is a heavy one, starting right off with rapid riffing and drumming, as well as a high pitched shriek from vocalist / bassist ICS Vortex. After 22 seconds, we are led into the first verse, with Vortex's screaming accompanied with an effect that he uses throughout the album. To the unobservant listener, this particular verse could very well bore you, as it did me; the fast pace keeps up, and hey, it is just super fast drums, guitar and screaming: typical black metal But it's much more than that; listen closer and notice the layered keyboards, the numerous guitar harmonies, the tastefulness in drummer Asgeir Mickelson's beating: all leaning more towards progressive metal than anything black. The second track is more melodic, with lyrics completely sung cleanly as opposed to screamed. It starts with a beautiful hearmony between the guitars and the keyboards, leading into the first verse, and the song builds upon itself, until reaching the status of being an epic. And this is not the only song on this album to reach that status: "Ruins of the Future", "Colossus", "Genesis Torn" and "Revolt" could all very well be considered metal classic. That is, if you give them a chance to grow on you.

Because of the complexity of the music in question, Borknagar will not be a band to immediately strike you. They're like Meshuggah, in that you have to study their music, notice all the little things, to fully appreciate their art. There's nothing predictable about this album at all music wise. Any skilled musician should give this band a listen.

The lyrics on this album, as I said before, are all very well written. Dealing with matters like the vastness of time, the forces of nature, the feeling a human mind experiences...it's all extremely poetic. Being a fan of poetry and a lyric writer myself, I never like to see bands let their lyrics skip, especially when the music is exceptional. The lyrics simply must be as thought-filled as the music, or the full effect just won't be so powerful.

This is a very highly recommended album. If you are a musician at all, PLEASE give this album a chance. This is an extremely talented band that deserves your attention. For fans of ALL types of metal.

Quintessence...for the Adventerous Ones.......2005-09-04

Borknagar is the all star band that tends to create a more mature and experienced take on blackened metal. They focus more on the meat of the music rather than the church burning and corpsepaint associated with this form of music. Borknagar has always had a sort of elder-like leadership role in their music making and their albums are great testaments to their outstanding song craft and ability to draw you into their misty, murky, dark world. while most of their albums have a bit of a grey like quality to them, Quintessence is the odd album out for this band. the colour scheme for this album is red and the music reflects that same feeling. first off, the production of this album is unique. all the instrument and the vocals (especially the vocals! yikes!) are all pushed waaaay up into the mix giving the record a very aggressive and claustrophobic feeling. you can almost feel the white hot heat from the fiery performance of the band. this may turn off alot of listeners who like their black metal music crystal clear and/or utterly productionless. in any case, it works well for this particular album for Borknagar. they took a chance with these sort of production values and (in my opinion) it pays off in spades. the band rocks hard on this album...exploding through the songs like they were blasts of molten lava shot straight from hell's cannon squad! the vocals are great! very hearty and passionate, there are alot of effects used on the vocals which at times, tends to hamper the impact, but at the same time gives some of the songs a very "cosmic" feel to them. this would be the last album with I.C.S. Vortex on vokills, which is unfortunate b/c he gives quite a stellar performance. overall, this is an album to be purchased immedietly by those with adventerous tastes in metal music!

A Heavier, More Aggressive Borknagar.......2005-03-14

Where "The Archaic Course" showcased Borknagar's fascination with nature and took more of a majestic Viking metal route, the sound on 2000's "Quintessence" is more focused on songwriting, and is, simply put, more aggressive and well... heavier!

Speeding down a path of musical and intellectual evolution, Borknagar changed themselved from the inside out here. The lyrics focus on science and universal mysteries rather than nature-themed lyrics on previous outings. Definitely provokes the listener to think, despite their obscurity, which may caise a few eyebrows to raise. But the lyrics are descriptive and beautiful nonetheless. These are by far some of the best lyrics I have seen in metal, alongside Agalloch, Dissection, and Emperor, among others.

The guitars and drums have sped up consistently and now collaborate together impeccably. There are a lot of intricate fills on the drums, and much more in-your-fave double bass. All around, it's a fresh awakening from the "wall of noise" production used on previous albums. However, the guitars are a little too distorted and muddy for their own good, and sometimes clashes with the keyboards, which are more up-front than "The Archaic Course". They weave pompous and majestic melodies throughout the album, giving this album quite an ethereal atmosphere.

Vortex now does bass and vocals. He still has one of the best clean voices in metal, but he does more screaming, which is much more visceral and venomous than before. His all-around vocal job is more steady, and he busts out some beautiful vocal harmonies on "Colossus" and "Revolt".

1. Rivalry of Phantoms- Storms into a frenzy of triumphant guitar melodies, with some great organs underlying the storming and intricate drumwork. A strong opening track, and shows what to expect on the album. 5/5

2. The Presence is Ominus- Vortex double-layers his vocals here of clean and his hateful rasps. The guitars weave some great melodies, and the drums are outstanding! The lyrics are really good too. 5/5

3. Ruins of the Future- My favorite song. This song is faster with some catchy guitar work and stampeding drumwork. It later breaks down and Vortex gives one of his best performances here. 5/5

4. Colossus- Stunning! A pounding rhythm coupled with Vortex's opeatic clean vocal create a larger than life atmosphere, and you just feel like raising your fist to the sky when hearing this. The best song on the album. 5/5

5. Inner Landscape- A nice little interlude that showcases the somewhat hidden keyboards. A nice break from the chaos, but a bit unfitting. 3/5

6. Invincible- The pace picks back up with storming double bass. The verses shows a nice technical side of the band, and the keyboards add a triumphant feel here. The guitars are great as well. This song isn't too memorable, but the lyrics compensate for it. 4/5

7. Icon Dreams- More double-layered vocals here, which are interesting but catchy, and the tempo sets an epic mood. Again, not very memorable, but it has its moments. 4/5

8. Genesis Torn- Another great song. Has a booming chorus which will stick in your head for days, and the keyboard work woven with the guitars is impeccable. This sums up the album best, and has a lot of tempo changes. A great song. 5/5

9. Embers- Serves as somewhat of an intro to the grand finale of "Revolt". Truly beautiful guitar work.... 4/5

10. Revolt- Awesome... Vortex gives his most emotional vocal performance here, and the mood is almost mournful. A great closing song. 5/5

My only complaint here is the crowded production. I would reccommend this to fans of avant-garde or proggressive metal. Another great CD from Borknagar.

I ENJOYED THIS ALBUM QUITE A BIT.......2004-07-11

At least Simen Hestnaes (ICS Vortex), I did. He's got a great voice. If only the synths, guitars and his vocals were more prominent. If I wanted to hear those crazy demonic vocals and supbar production, I'd listen to a superior and much more aggressive black metal band like Emperor.

More Vortex, less demon vocals.

Great CD, terrible mixing job.......2004-01-28

In general, this is probably one of the best black metal (or whatever subgenre this stuff fits into) bands I've heard. I especially like the occasional clean vocals and keyboard parts. However, the real downside of the CD is its unbelievably bad mixing job. The guitar parts sound MUDDY, and at times sound just like complete noise (some of you less musical types may like this, but I think it would sound a lot better if one could actually make out the melodies, which in general are very well written and interesting). The same thing goes with the vocals, they're really muddy and at times impossible to make out, even though Vortex has a great voice. Buy this CD only if you really like darker metal stuff, or if you want something melodic and can put up with the bad production.

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