Solid Blackened-Death Metal - Christian metal, and Christian black metal in particular, is often attacked by metal fans as betraying the purpose of metal. Extol s release, consequently, has gotten its share of criticism, not as much on a music level as on a religious one. I disagree with those who attack Christian metal for the reason that no genre of music should be limited to expressing one type of message--the brutal sound of hardcore music, for example, can express either violent, hateful revolt or a pacifistic but no less determined rebellion against the violence and debauchery common in 20th century youth (hence the `straight-edge trend), or any other number of messages. Thus, the messages of metal, a far more expressive and diverse genre that often tends toward philosophical musings, should be more diverse, not less, than those of any other genre.And, controversy notwithstanding, Extol expresses their message well. The sound is diverse, sometimes with a downright victorious tone (see Celestial Completion, for example) expressing the glory of God s creation and sometimes with a harsher, more aggressive tone typically accompanied with lyrics speaking of spiritual warfare, as in Embraced. The guitars are very technical, and the vocals are quite harsh. While some may complain that the CD isn t aggressive or dissonant enough (or just not `extreme enough, with its lack of downtuned guitars and violent lyrics), I believe that is missing the point of the release. This five-piece band from Norway has put together a complexly built album that escapes the sometimes over-wrought anger other blackened-death bands create.Indeed, Extol isn t afraid to break conventions and try new things on their album. From the brief, lovely flute solo in Celestial Completion to the clean vocals heard in Reflections of a Broken Soul and several others, this band swerves off the beaten path. Unless you re totally opposed to the clearly Christian lyrics of the release or simply hate metal of all types, this is a release you don t want to miss.
For all those who say christian metal is on a lower level...check it out!!! - Just Got this CD and it blew me away 1st time through. I m sure it will not leave my player until a new CD is purchased. For any Metal Heads loving good black metal, this ones for you. Other than the excellent vocals the guitarists, bassist, and drummer show true talent with their trills, fast, and complicated riffs. Not only is the music top-of-the-notch, but their is a very strong, blunt Godly message in every song.
Burial owns your FACE!!!!!! - Well i m not christian but man this band rules. I can definately fit this with my collection of Dimmu Borgir, Emporer, Old Mans s Child, or even Gorgoroth. This album is not my favorite Extol CD but it s close enough if they never releases Undeceived! Alot of reviewers are giving others static due to them saying You only buy this cuz they re Christian, my answer is so frickin what! I know people buying Burzum bc Varg Vikernes killed someone, or Mayhem bc they re satanic and Dead blew his brains out while the remaining members wore his skull out literally. I say shut your mouth, bc when when you buy that crap, it s only because of what they do. Personally, i m not into Mayhem that much, I think Varg is a douche and a half. I love Extol to death, but to me Dimmu Borgir is one of the most talented Black Metal bands out there! So if a christain wants to buy Extol mainly for their beliefs, let them, same goes for a satanist for their beliefs. You can call me a poser for this(although I don t see why), but either way you can all eat my crap for talking crap!
Great Metal Album - Its great to hear something put out from the christian side of things that can actually compete versus the metal greats instead of the crap that comes from band such as Switchfoot and the like. I give this cd a thumbs up.
Great atmospheric bm! (even if the -|- isn t -l-) - It s easy to pigeonhole christian music as a whole in general because if you have to start from the premise that your band has a message or is for the Lord then its pretty much de-facto that the music isn t worth anything as its only being used as a vehicle to deliver whatever.The great thing about early Extol (not so much now) is that it was a band that was first and foremost about the music, specifically atmospheric black metal and coming from people just so happened also believed in a creator, which while opposite the conventional black metal standards, nevertheless is understandable since Scandinavian countries espoused christianity for ages. As bands like Leviathan/Xasthur (from California) or even Pyha (a 13yr old boy from South Korea) have demonstrated, black metal cannot be confined to merely location, likewise beliefs shouldn t be held any differently, I use the same analogy when discussing Burzum with people.Of course, none of this would matter if Extol simply sucked at creating black metal, the fact is just opposite: they do it very, very well. Extol here manages to evoke the almost folk-ish sensibilities that bands like Opeth or Agalloch do when they sound their most black (My Hearse... / Pale Folklore) , but they also channel a healthy amount of really fine tremelo picking/screeching that Ulver did so well around their Bergtatt album, while coating it with the kind of clean production Satyricon has gone with as of late all the while keeping it very grim..Vocally they don t really sound like too many bands, but come close to Ulver again, but with the tradeoff that they have two vocalists and will switch constantly throughout the album, this aspect is also extremely well done and isn t gimmicky at all as its very consistant since they don t necesarilly have a full-range of screams to go around with ala Twilight...Overall though Burial is absolutley the best Extol album there is as it definetly is kvlt especially since the clean vocals used on every subsequent album is not present & since they are first and foremost making great atmospheric bm. Its just a shame that Extol decided to abandon this path and move on to symphonic bm, and then abandon bm altogether since this album easily stands head and toe next to any like-minded atmospheric grimness I can name.