1. INTRO - Decaydance

 
2. I MOVEMENT - Light Collapse 
3. II MOVEMENT - E.C.L.I.P.S.E. 

4. INTERLUDE - Part I 
5. INTERLUDE - Part II 

6. III MOVEMENT - The Infinite Aiming 
7. IV MOVEMENT - Ethereal... and the Thorns 
8. V MOVEMENT - Near the Altar of Madness

 
9. OUTRO - Midnight Requiem 

An ecleptic philosophical concept- opus among Spheric and Symphonic Black soundscapes, Prog and Heavy techniques and a solemn ritual hyperdarkness, like in a surreal temple of superior beings. Classical perfectly mixed with Metal

produced by Decadence

review  by dalia "gryphon_spirit" di giacomo____  

An obscure principle is near
it'll take where all begun"

"Theatre of Eclipse" is a concept album based on the philosophical and paranormal suggestion that there could be a kind of connection between eclipses (especially the Moon ones) and the existence of previous lives of ours. Also starting from all deep philosophical considerations about this  impressive astronomical phenomenon, we can appreciate how much darkness and obscurity walk usually hand hand in hand, but they are not the same identical concept: there can be darkness without excessive obscurity, while there is no obscurity without darkness. Somehow obscurity is an evolution of darkness , a gloomier tone, a step beyond, towards an unknown destination, a journey into the realm of our imaginations, our fears, our attraction towards all that can be cosmic, superior but, above all, occult. The music of this young talented Italian band is an abyss activated by a great musical competence and eclepticism. Musicians coming from Death, Black and Prog have started, during the year 2001, this amazing act: they really sound obscure in the true meaning of the term: not by chance they describe their music as Obscure Metal. Biting hammering Metal riffings in style Heavy and even Melodic Death  are only a part of a more sinister and complex frame: the protagonist is a totally  gloomy extremely dark atmosphere, typical of the Spheric and Symphonic Black metal, with some Doom touches and Prog insertions, enriched by evil low chorus', low and raw whispers, sudden threatening bursts of evil vocals which deliver bitter lyrics about a possible immortal destiny, illusions, silent  planets and our madness,which "is not feeling insane" . 
There is no explicite classic Black technique , but there are all other ingredients that are a mark of Spheric and Symphonic Black: the result is an amazing worrying soundscape that appears anyway as Black (but i r underline it's no classic Black) but that can be appreciated and heard also by all who never approached to this style. The obscurity of the sound,that sometimes is even bombastic and solemn, the sudden guitar riffings, as well as the wonderful haunting piano solos, the evil brachial  screaming vocals and whispers and echoes, the bass tones, the varied  instrumentation makes this album a opus , the contents of lyrics,  a sound track that bring  you into the Hall of the Damned, or in the cosmic cloister of souls that must follow a cyclus of rebirth. A labyrinth of mysteries, bigger than our scientifical mind . But another characteristic makes this album excellent: that famous roller- coaster effect that is the great mark of the new Dimmu-Borgir's Death Cult Armageddon. But Decadence have already planned their visions and inspirations in 2001 and recorded the album during the 2002. In comparison "Theatre of Eclipse" is not so bombastic and not so much Death Thrash supported, surely less aggressive and much more Prog, nevertheless the kind of dynamism , heaviness and vision is basically the same. This music is simply a  Black Sung Mass for your souls expressed in 9 movements (and not "songs") and one interlude, all opened by an intro and sealed by a final outro, each one  fades  into the other without any frontier or gap.

Intro Decaydance is athmospheric, mysterious, spans between doom-like tonalities and a marked mid tempo, the heaviness of the bass tonalities is broken by the higher hits of the atmospheric backgrounds and launches the Ist Movement (track 2 Light Collapse) in which an uptempo riffing acts as skeleton for spheric and symphonic Black tonalities and Doom cursed passages. Movement II (track 3) delivers  rolling pushing bass echoes and a heavy raw riffing which make this lively track another garden of evilness enriched by a stop -start moment and by  a piano solo that leads the track directly  into the fourth and fifth songs which both represent one interlude,  solemn grave evil , divided in 2 parts: the first almost  church solemn and the second more vampiric, melodic , extremely hypnotic and cosmic. This cathedral of sounds converge  into a lively long midi piano and arpeggio  which remind me of the "Dance of the Sugar-Plum Fairy"- Tanz der Zuckerfee - (from The Nutcracker Suite - Tchaikovsky)- or simply of small figures dancing on  ice, whose fragility fades into the beginning of the track number 6 (Movement III "The Infinite Aiming") that is simply superb and majestic: a pushing, bass, sinister reverbering opens a progression in burst of an evil escalation in Melodic Black metal style: like a wave you reach a formidable guitar attck and double bass drumming.
             "Where....where are you from..? My spirit is aiming I don't care if I fall...."

but pity that the following digressions in jazz-prog spoils imo the picture od this  sixth track, but then   a new furious attack  puts us again  in full metal ambience,  with athmospheric stop starts and distorced low tuned guitars too . Track 7 (IV Movement - Ethereal... and the Thorns ) is launching us again into a perfect vortex with roller coaster effect, and sordid brachial vocals which morph into evil ghosts. Same background shared with the last movement (Near the Altar of Madness)  where the rhythmic section is pushing with heavy energy with effect roller -coaster again: biting evilness, blessed by a  Death-rhythmed ride. Finally the Outro gives us a last sensation of  melody: two acoustic guitars performed in a  classically influenced way, a bit à la Manuel de Falla, with a formidable coordination . So,  classic influences are to be found  not only concerning keys and piano but also in the way to play acoustic.

An album that develops  an asylum  for obscurity in almost 30 minutes, with a good production and nice graphics in the elegant booklet. This  "brother" of Progenies of the Great Apocalypse is  a Solemn Mass for souls to come . Ite, Missa est,  the eclipse is gone, but our anxities still are here...

" it's not the first time
it's not the first time we die
....
near the altar of madness
truth has come to show her rewal face
carried by the eclipse with a new dawn of reality"

rating:  9.3/10

[ I Despair ]

© GryphonMetal.ch  June 2001Niederrohrdorf - Switzerland