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Artist: ENSOPH
Album: Opus Dementiae
Year: 2006
It was about time that Italian gothic formation Ensoph
came up with a new release. After the ‘The Bleeding Womb
Of Anake’ record, the band seemed covered in a huge
silence. But that was a wrong impression; they signed a
new deal with Cruz del Sur and recorded some stuff.
‘Opus Dementiae’ is their first weapon out of the past
years, released in April 2004.
And I must say, it is definitely worth the wait. On
‘Opus Dementiae’, Ensoph shows us the path they decided
to take. While ‘The Bleeding Womb...’ was an album with
some decent songs but also with some boring once, Ensoph
manages to become more dark and way more mature on ‘Opus
Dementiae’. That Ensoph became more dark is already
escalated within the first track, ‘Jaldabaoth At The
Spring Of Time’. The flute colours the intro, while
Ensoph manages to create a heavy sounding guitar sound.
There are more clean vocals than before (think of
Depeche Mode likely vocals), but the high screams still
manage to open voids. ‘In The Flesh’ is a song more dark
and gothic. The beautiful intermezzo with the flute
(later exchanged for keys) and the bass makes you want
to dream away, while the following parts are pretty
catchy. At the same time, this song has got its brutal
parts, and overall it has got a heavy sound. ‘Sophia’s
Fall’ has an industrial intro, which slowly floods over
into the dark Ensoph style. This song is maybe the most
‘old school Ensoph sounding’-song of the record. Sorrow
is expressed in five different ways on this song, while
the keys make this a song to remember. In ‘Faith Defeat’
Ensoph manages to make a brilliant mix of old school
gothic and the elder Ensoph. The couplets are dark,
industrialized and atmospheric while the chorus is
powerful and heavy. Pretty catchy as well in the end. A
good way to let orchestral flood into industrial has
been shown when ‘Salmo A Nessuno’ begins. The song
doesn’t really wake up, so in the end it sounds more
like an orchestral-industrial intermezzo than a real
song. ‘White Lamb Seducer’ is maybe the most dark and
atmospheric song of the record. With mid-tempo chorusses
and slow couplets it is also one of the less brutal
songs. But to say that it is a bad song? No, definitely
not. Orchestral influences return again here and there,
and the vocals bring you back to the old times. The
guitar work is smashing, which is continued on ‘Lies of
the Mirror Which Lies Not’. The wellknown flute returns
again, and the screams are taking over on an excellent
way. With 3’39” this is also the shortest song of the
record. ‘Sun Of The Liar’ is again a more atmospheric
song, with midtempo guitar parts. High screamed chorus,
gothic sounding couplets. Somehow, this song remind me
to Penumbra in a way, although when you compare both
bands and styles it is hard to find common things.
Before the last song, a good remix of ‘Sophia’s Fall’,
it is time for ‘Proudly Divine’. Again a more industrial
song. It has some folk influences here and there, and
you will find some cool musical surprises here and
there. This already illustrates the whole story of this
record. On places most bands should use destortion,
Ensoph uses high screams. On places other bands should
use atmospheric parts, Ensoph provides you a heavy
sound. Yes, Ensoph is one of these extravagant bands who
are not really comparable to others. And now they have
become more mature... time for a breakthrough!
Vote: 90 / 100
Review by: Gerardo |
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01. Jaldabaoth At The
Spring Of Time
02. In The Flesh
(Visione Della Passione)
03. Sophia’s Fall
04. Faith Defeat
05. Salmo A Nessuno
06. White Lamb Seducer
(40 Days & 40 Nights)
07. Lies of the Mirror
Which Lies Not
08. Sun Of The Liar
09. Proudly Divine (Ink
& Mirrors & Emnty Tombs)
10. Sophia’s Fall
(Sophies Welt RX) |
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