Since their formation in Germany of 1994, Dark Fortress have managed to complete 5 full-length releases. This current album has a new vocalist who goes by the name of Morean. He is briefly featured on their past release entitled 'Seance' (2006). Their previous vocalist Azathoth departed from the band in 2007 due to personal reasons. The band decided to recruit Morean because of his lyrical and vocal abilities.

'Eidolon' has six members altogether. Morean (as previously mentioned) is on vocals, Asvargyr on guitars, V. Santura on second guitar, Draug on bass, Paymon on keyboards, and Seraph on drums. Celtic Frost's vocalist sings as a guest on the song 'Baphomet'. The band made a video for 'Edge of Night'.

This full-length concept album falls under the category of melodic black metal. The reason why it is termed "melodic black metal" is because the music displayed here which feature guitars that carry with them an eerie/evil concoction of riffs, in unison keyboards, screeching vox, and warping bass. There are some blast beating drums as well as double kick, which goes along with the music. The entire release has a symphonic echo vibe to it.

In terms of the sound, there are some killer riffs which display some ultra fast picking melodies and leads. The guitars have a huge block of distortion to them. The bass on this release you can actually hear blended well with the music. Everything seemed to fit. That would include the production, sound quality, overall playing and huge display of talent!

There is a reason why 'Eidolon' is considered to be a concept release. This is because according to the band it deals with nine chapters that "describes the initiation, dehumanization, and unearthly rebirth of a transcending soul by mirror magic and astral projection". The lyrics are difficult to grasp because of this subject. There are no cover songs whatsoever. The lyrical concept was chosen by Morean.

Dark Fortress shows an array of ability for this particular genre of metal. Everything seemed to fit well together. There are a few songs that are a little boring. But for the most part, 'Eidolon' is a fine piece of work. The words here are quite creative and the music combined with the concept are amazing. Don't miss out on this album!

Rating: 8½ (out of 10) ratings explained

Reviewed by Death8699
08/21/2009 10:23