The Grim Tower
Rating: 9/10
The debut album from this unsigned Swedish symphonic death metal act (they had been previously playing as Rest In Peace from 1996-2005) is drenched in gothic synths from head to toe, as it features deep-throated gravel and the occasional clean backing vocal (they really could have left that out though, to be honest) in addition to some absolutely amazing guitar work, which seems to duet well with the pianos that appear so thickly on the record. Somewhere, someone wants to be buried with this fucking album, it’s just that goddamned majestic and I’m not afraid to say so. In the vein of mid-era Rotting Christ, early Graveworm and Type O Negative, the atmosphere here is perfect for a dark candlelit room in an ancient castle somewhere. I think that Dracula would use this as a sort of dinner music whilst he was courting Medusa, although one might think he would be careful not to stare into her hypnotic gaze. If you’ve got that goth friend who revels in this kind of stuff, or are looking to woo a woman who dresses up like every day is Halloween, then I think you will find this most effective. Of the two band photos I was sent, the one where the band is dressed in the all black garb seems more fitting of this gothic act than the guys dressed up in regular clothes. It sells the mystique of which there certainly is here. But doesn’t that sound a little like the Inspector Gadget theme on “Across The Astral Plane” 4:52? All joking aside, Dark Legacy certainly have their hands thick into the gothic goo of symphonic death metal that tends to lurch into a more musty, damp and cryptic direction. I’m almost expecting a Castlevania soundtrack cover to appear on the album, but in all honesty; this whole thing sounds like ti would fit well in the dark castle of any foul denizen. Be sure to play it with your favorite count or countess tonight.
Original source: www.thegrimtower.com
Metal-Temple
Rating: 8/10
I have read an article where it states that the Metalhead is an idiot for not opening the mind, and I can’t be more agree with that, we are stuck in a glorious past that will never return, and expect to always find the same, closing the gate to bands that may have not the prestige or the big label supporting, and let me clear something to all of you: this band is not evolution, is not something that you haven’t heard before, but hell they are good, and that’s enough to get me into this review.
DARK LEGACY may be a cliche name, but that is not really important, and after hearing a couple of times this release (7 years after their first demo) and the touch of the nineties is all over the way, but with a twist in the years, something that makes this album sound a little different, and a lot better.
The atmosphere is dark and mist, with keys filling the moment, and creating auras that surrounds the listener into something very rare, strange and peaceful, guitars are strong, hard but not fast, helping to create the moment, good riffs and few solos, perfect for this, the bass is very good, driving into rock and metal sides, but always with good taste of the rhythm, the drums come always in when they’re needed, they’re not fast, not always slow, just go along with the songs, changing the tempos and breaking the sounds, the vocals are harsh, good, but a little plain for my taste, after all they fill well in the songs, what else can I ask?
Long short term: The album has the doom in all the way, despite de definition of Symphonic Death Metal, sounds like the straight evolution of KATATONIA, if they’d continued to this day with the “Dance Of December Soul”‘s sound, they are young, they are beginning, and in my humble opinion I foresee a good future to this band, expecting more, expecting the best.
Jorge “The Zarto” Zamudio
Original source: www.metal-temple.com/
BlackenedDeathMetalZine
Rating: 8/10
Dark Legacy are a band from Sweden that plays a very symphonic sounding mixture of black, death and doom metal and this is a review of their 2014 album “Ad Extemum Epilogue” which was released by Black Vulture Entertainment.
The album starts out with tragic sounding keyboards which also bring in symphonic elements before adding in blackened death metal vocals along with a good amount of doom metal elements as well as bringing in a good amount of melody and after awhile solos and leads are added into the music.
As the album continues the music sticks to a very dark, depressive, heavy and symphonic sound and at times they also bring violins into certain sections of the recording and on one of the tracks they also bring in a small amount of melodic chanting and vocals in certain sections of the recording and at times the music also speeds up a bit and adds in small amount of blast beats as well as all of the musical instruments having a very powerful sound to them and on one of the tracks there is a brief use of melodic female vocals.
With this album Dark Legacy go back to the early 90’s era of the black, death and doom metal genres and mix it in with a symphonic sound and a good amount of melody to create a sound of their own.
Song lyrics cover dark, metaphysical and occultism themes, while the production has a very strong, powerful, heavy, dark and old school sound where you can hear all of the musical instruments that are present on this recording.
In my opinion Dark Legacy are a very great sounding symphonic mixture of black, death and doom metal and if you are a fan of those musical genres, you should check out this band. RECOMMENDED TRACKS INCLUDE “The Waning Moon”, “A Dark And Horrible Night”, “Across the Astral Plane” and “A Cry In the Universe”.
Original source: Blackeneddeathmetalzine
RME – Rock Metal Essence
Rating: 78/100
La storia dei Dark Legacy inizia nel 1996 nel piccolo villaggio svedese di Örsundsbro, sotto il moniker Rest In Peace. Cambiato orientamento musicale verso un symphonic death/black metal, la formazione modificò il proprio nome nel 2005, e nel 2014 ha pubblicato il suo primo album, Ad Extremum Epilogue.
Un prodotto davvero interessante per gli amanti del genere estremo sinfonico, che ben abbina l’aggressività strettamente death/black metal delle chitarre e della vocalità growl del cantante, a intricate e raffinate basi di tastiere ed arrangiamenti. Un tono oscuro, glaciale, permea l’opera, per un disco dal colore nero come la notte, nel quale gli incubi, le ombre, le paure formano un vortice, stretto attorno all’orecchio dell’ascotlatore. La prova tecnica dei musicisti è notevole, la loro coesione è solida, e frutto di una maturità già da tempo raggiunta. Ottimi anche i suoni di produzione, nitidi e avvolgenti, splendidamente tarati in ogni loro parte.
Menzione finale per un songwriting vario ed ispirato, che porta a dodici brani molto diversi da loro, ma allo stesso tempo uniti dallo stesso comune denominatore, che porta lo stemma del metal estremo. Mai eccessivamente lunghe (la durata media di ogni pezzo si aggira sui 4 minuti scarsi), queste composizioni saspranno soddisfare anche il palato più esigente. Una canzone su tutte? Ascoltate Across The Astral Plane. Da lasciarvi a bocca aperta!
Original source: www.rock-metal-essence.com
Metalreviews
Rating: 75/100
In a little village known as Örsundsbro in Sweden, the band Rest in Peace began as a cover band of famous heavy metal bands. The name Rest in Peace would retire and change to Dark Legacy in 2005 and thus the band dived deeper into darker and more shadowy elements of metal. Their sound can be best described as a symphonic, death, and black metal album with a little coating of gothic at times. Since 2005 they have been writing their own material and finally this year the release their first true studio album.
The somber and calming piano that opens the first track Purgatorium sets the mood right from the get go with a definite symphonic feel. Keyboards are a big part of this album which make it all the more enjoyable to listen to. Tracks like The Waning Moon set a gothic tone with a little more of an upbeat feeling with the tremolo picking of the guitar and quicker keyboards. If all that you’re looking for is a blast beating good time, this album would not suit. Meaner tracks like At the Graveyard have a bit more double bass and a vocal chanting of the words “six feet under†to send a symphonic death metal chill down the spine.
One of my absolute favorite tracks, A Dark and Horrible Night, begins with a simple heavy metal drumming fashion. The flow of the piano the lead of the guitars, and finally the clashing of the keyboards create a dark and sinister carnival ride of metal. Guitar work in this track is much more polished and is definitely one of the most memorable moments the entire album has to offer.
A two minute instrumental ride comes along towards the end of the album called, Dance of Shadows. Instrumentals are always a plus for me with any album, and this short burst of it is a gloomy and cinematic feeling piece which I enjoyed immensely. More bombastic moments filled with a strong prowess make up songs like Defending the Throne. A threatening build up from the keyboards only sets up the doom that waits. Shortly into the track, the song takes a moment to dive deep into classical and moving piano part that just melds perfectly into this album filled a wicked mission.
Dark Legacy’s first studio album is a complete surprise. From the heavy metal cover band they once were in the 90s to the symphonic and darkened band they have become, it is a good album to become acquainted with. It may had been difficult to get into some of the tracks, but rest assured this album has some great symphonic black and death metal moments to be heard.
Jared
Original source: metalreviews.com
Crossfire Metal
Rating: 7,5/10
Sehr stark symphonisch geprägten Death Metal präsentiert die, im Jahre 1996 unter dem Namen Rest In Peace gegründete Band Dark Legacy, mit ihrem Output „Ad Extremum Epilogue“. Sieben Jahre nach ihrer Demo wird das Ganze mit sphärischen Klängen mit dem Opener „Purgatorium“ eröffnet, ehe Keyboardpassagen „The Warning Moon“ einläuten und sich die Gitarren langsam behaupten und zudem melancholische Passagen und ordentliche Growls die Komposition begleiten. In „At The Gravehard“ übernimmt dann der Metal, mit schneidenden Riffs, die Überhand, bevor das dunkle „Sustain Until It Dies“ nachgelegt wird. Das furiose „A Dark And Horrible Night“, wird von dem abwechslungsreichen „Wolf Moon“ abgelöst, um dann das hymnische „Across The Astral Plane“ nachzulegen. Weiter geht es mit dem verspielten Intermezzo „Dance Of The Shadows“, um nach einleitenden Windgeräuschen, dass melodramatische „Till Nord“ heraus zuhauen. Nach dem opulenten „Defending The Throne“ und „Cry Of The Universe“, lässt man mit dem Titeltrack als Outro, dieses Keyboard getragene Machwerk, ruhig ausklingen.
Markus Peters
Original source: www.crossfire-metal.de
Auxportesdumetal
Rating: 14/20
En 1996, le groupe suédois de Power Metal Rest In Peace voit le jour. Il sortira trois demos avant de changer de nom et de direction musicale en 2005 pour s’appeler Dark Legacy, proposant désormais un Metal Extrême Symphonique.
Après une démo sortie en 2007, voici que paraît enfin son premier album nommé Ad Extremum Epilogue.
Le line-up se compose de Daniel Reese (guitare), Daniel Tjernberg (vocaux), Mikael Dagobert (claviers, guitare), Jens Fredriksson (basse), Jonas Hoffman (batterie) et Mikael Tjernberg (choeurs, session).
La musique de Dark Legacy est un concentré de Black, de Death et de Doom à la sauce symphonique.
A l’instar d’un Crematory (mais dans un style évidemment très différent), les claviers jouent un rôle prépondérant en s’avérant omniprésents et parfois en avant. Ceux-ci incarnent la dimension symphonique (ils créent la mélodie ou sont utilisés en nappes).
Purgatorium est une première compo qui s’aventure vers des contrées doom/death, l’ensemble est mélancolique, heavy, et j’y ai apprécié l’incursion du piano et l’apport des claviers (surtout lorsqu’ils n’évoluent pas vers des moments trop aigus) ; les vocaux sont tournés vers le death mais quelques voix claires plutôt parlées s’ajoutent parfois à ceux-ci (dualité efficiente).
Après un The Waning Moon, qui propose un joli passage instrumental avec violon en fin de titre, Dark Legacy nous propose, avec At The Graveyard, la compositions la plus directe et rapide de Ad Extremum Epilogue, pour laquelle le clavier est quasiment abandonné mais qui inclut quelques choeurs masculins aux entournures opératiques sur lit de piano.
Avec Sustain Until It Dies, nous revenons dans le giron doomesque agrémenté d’accélérations, avec le retour du chant masculin lyrique et quelques sonorités de claviers pouvant évoquer Samael dans ses compositions les plus lentes.
A Dark And Horrible Night est enrobé de quelques intéressants moments atmosphériques à la teneur plutôt progressive… je ne vais pas poursuivre en détaillant chaque morceau, la suite étant dans la lignée de ce qui précède.
Nous avons donc toujours cette alternance passages doom/death voire black et autres plus rythmés, des instants plus atmosphériques, quelques bons soli, des tournures prog bien amenées et naturellement toujours cette inclinaison symphonique qui souffre malheureusement de limites en raison d’un son de clavier globalement trop balisé, trop peu diversifié… selon moi, il aurait été salutaire d’inclure de nombreuses variations en la matière pour offrir des compositions proposant une véritable richesse orchestrale.
Notons la présence de deux bons titres instrumentaux, le dynamique Dance Of Shadows et le très agréable Ad Extremum Epilogue, doux et à la mélodie assez entêtante, un peu trop court à mon goût et qui vient clore l’album.
Ad Extremum Epilogue propose des compositions plaisantes et plutôt variées, il bénéficie en outre d’une production très satisfaisante.
Mais je reconnais que je sors des écoutes un peu frustré car je trouve que l’album manque cruellement d’orchestrations imposantes (à mes yeux, elles auraient pu faire de Ad Extremum Epilogue un indispensable du genre !), pouvant être construites avec des sonorités synthétiques (souvent bluffantes) ou éventuellement quelques instruments classiques… pour le prochain opus?
Original source: www.auxportesdumetal.com/
Metal-Observer
Rating: 6,5/10
Dark Legacy have been around in one way or another since 1996, evolving from whatever is the Swedish village equivalent of a pub-band into a symphonic death metal act in 2005. Now in 2014 Ad Extremum Epilogue the first actual release from the band after almost two decades in existence, and to be certain, it is entirely of the symphonic metal persuasion. Speaking of decades, someone please let them know that no one uses MySpace, where the band is fairly active, anymore. To the extent that it matters, I am a big fan of symphonic metal, so I am both easily entertained and extremely critical. Well, what does the album sound like? Think Kalmah meets Cradle of Filth. The keyboard-orchestras are omnipresent, but the band does not rely on these as a sole basis of the sound. Guitar melodies and solid riffs are responsible for all of the best moments of Epilogue. The vocals are deep and guttural, while being fairly articulate.
Despite these solid building blocks, Epilogue is a relatively bland album. For one thing, nearly every song sports the exact same slow tempo and the same dreamy keyboard arpeggios, and a repetitive doom and gloom ambiance that gets old. Songs are largely indistinguishable. And while you will certainly encounter distinct moments, compositions seem devoid of a clear sense of an actual song. The active listener will be far more pleased than the typical, casual listener; the songs themselves are simply not memorable. Unfortunately, while Dark Legacy are capable of writing harmonically sensible piano melodies and string leads, I did not finish the album remembering any of them. What I certainly did remember was the album-titled outro which would make perfect sense at the end of any movie from the 1980s.
“Purgatorium” is a solid opener, and “At the Graveyard” features an interesting vocal harmony chanting “Six, six, six feet under”. I can confidently say that some people will enjoy this album more than I did. But those expecting blast beats and high energy would be better off elsewhere.
John Sawicki
Original source: www.metal-observer.com
Metal-Rules
Rating: 3,5/5
For some people it takes 16 years to wait till all the stars have aligned in favour of the album release. That obviously is the case with Sweden’s Dark Legacy. And let me just say right away that their album is capable of raising certain suspicion in anyone who would listen to it for the first time without knowing anything about the band and its background. A suspicion about how experienced this troupe really is, and at the same time leaving no doubt about the academic level of the musicianship on this record.
“Ad Extremum Epilogue” is a record which not only demonstrates Dark Legacy’s ability to redefine Symphonic Metal, it’s also filled with every possible element of 90’s melancholic Metal. Due to synth piano passages like the one on the “Wolf Moon”, or that of a sheer classical music right after the intro on “The Waning Moon”, today’s Metal kids might think of this band as a slow motion Fleshgod Apocalypse.
To 90’s kids who revered such albums as Nightwish’s “Angels Fall First”, The Gathering’s “Mandylion” or Moonspell’s “Wolfheart”, this album will most likely sound nothing short of a retro music. Albeit with some satyric connotations. For example, the track “At the Graveyard” with a choir chanting “Six, six, six feet under”, or the choir on the “Sustain Until it Dies” which will remind you of singing skeletons in Tim Burton’s “Corpse Bride”.
Intentionally or not, the keyboards on this album may get a bit annoying, like for instance on the “Across the Astral Plane” where in the middle of the song a decent guitar riff is skilfully made to sound out of place as soon as keyboards come into play. This passage is then followed by Dark Legacy’s own version of Edvard Grieg’s “In the Hall of the Mountain King”.
Apart from a few annoying moments this album offers a pleasure of a challenging listen to anyone who enjoys a bit of a parody, be it one of Funeral Doom, or Neoclassical Metal, or Symphonic Metal. Even fully serious sounding songs like “Till Nord”, or “Purgatorium” can’t ruin the eccentric feel of this intelligent album.
Peer Ynt
Original source: www.metal-rules.com
Concrete Web
Rating: 60/100
Swedish Dark Legacy were formed in 1996 as Rest In Peace. Back then, the band played brutal Heavy / Power Metal, both own songs as well as covers. Rest In Peace was very active as live-band, and they did millions of gigs (or at least more than hundred). In 2005, the band underwent some important and determining modifications. The line-up changed and the members wanted to play a darker and more oppressive form of Extreme Metal. That’s why they decided to change the Rest In Peace-moniker into the current one, Dark Legacy, because that would better fit to the new musical direction. Besides, there was enough self-written material, which got more preferable than performing cover songs especially. A new chapter indeed!
In 2012 Dark Legacy decided to record the best songs they wrote themselves throughout their history. At the end of 2013, Dark Legacy were able to sign a deal with Swedish label Black Vulture Records too, and it brings me to Ad Extremum Epilogue, the debut of the band after more than a decade and a half of existence.
But in case you appreciate a more operatic approach of dark-edged and atmospheric Metal, then it was worth waiting for! Ad Extremum Epilogue (length: almost three quarters of an hour) brings a totally different kind of Metal than Rest In Peace. Completely gone are the traditional elements from the past; enter atmosphere, obscurity and emotionality. This stuff is of the spherical Gothic / Dark / Doom / Death Metal kind that will appeal to (all) fans of symphonic, operatic and melodic Metal. The music combines deep grunts and pounding riffs, a melodic rhythm section and melodic leads, with neo-classical and / or acoustic passages, but most important of all: a leading role for the keyboards. No matter if it’s a heavier or a calm, integer piece: the keyboards lead; they do not just accompany the whole; they carry the whole.
Despite some outbursts and despite the death grunts, Ad Extremum Epilogue certainly is not a harsh album at all. Sometimes it even sounds poppy and catchy. Therefore I think it is meant to please a rather limited, specific fan-base only.
Consider it a mixture of, let’s say, Nox Mortis (at least their debut Im Schatten Des Hasses), Lacrimosa, Dismal Euphony, Katatonia, Desire, Moonspell and Phenris.
Ivan Tibos
Original source: www.concreteweb.be/reviews/dark-legacy