REVIEW: DARK FUNERAL - IN THE SIGN...

 

DARK FUNERAL - IN THE SIGN... (Necropolis Recs. , 2001):

Technical Data:

Recorded and Mixed at Hellspawn/Unisound Studios - January 1994.

Tracks 5, 6 recorded at Abyss Studios - March 1996

Produced by Dark Funeral and Dan Swanö. Tracks 5, 6 produced by Dark Funeral and Peter Tägtgren.

Track List: 1- Open the Gates, 2- Shadows Over Transylvania, 3- My Dark Desires, 4- In the Sign of The Horns, 5- Equimanthorn, 6- Call from the Grave

I have to make a warning here: this is not new material from Dark Funeral. In fact this is the reissue of some difficult to find material from the band from the period 1994-1996. This recording shows us all the trademarks that Lord Ahriman and Company have developed through all this years (obviously in a more primitive way, specially on the first four tracks) raw and fast balck metal with screaming vocals: A thing that maybe was new in 1994 but obviously is not new nowadays. The tracks recorded in 1996 ("Equimanthorn" and "Call from the Grave") have a better sound were you can hear clearly the instruments. Here you can see the evolution of the band that uses more catchy riffs apart from the blast beats that are so common in black metal. Also the first of this tracks has a catchy chorus (screaming Equimanthorn) that reminded me a lot of certain Venom classics. This is a CD for black metal fans or fans of the band that want to have all their material. Favorite tracks: The two newer ones. Contact: www.necropolisrecords.com