Saturday, July 23, 2011

Lemuria Discography



Lemuria is a black folk metal band that formed in Antwerp, Belgium in 2001. To date they have released 2 albums and 1 demo. I absolutely love how they mesh the folk vibe with the dark black metal tones as it creates a unique sound that greatly differs from other folk metal acts.

The first album, "Tales, Ale and Fire" is flooded with folk instrumentals and they help to create a lot of sweeping melodies. Throughout most tracks on this album there is usually a buildup which doesn't feel forced and really sets the mood. "A Day Of Reckoning" is a perfect example of great pacing as this band doesn't blow it's "musical load". I really enjoyed this one especially for the folksy interludes. A solid 8/10.

There second album, "Chanson De La Croisade" is a significant improvement over the first album, as it sounds a lot cleaner and crisp. They refined there sound over the 5 year break between albums but didn't loose there folksy melodic edge. They also moved toward a darker atmosphere and the vocals followed suit. It's not formulaic and it doesn't come off as a rehash of there first album. The song "A Coming Storm" is a picture perfect presentation of them cleaning up of there sound and along with the inclusion of more black metal elements and is a big favourite of mine. Similar to the first but much with a dark crust. 9/10.

Lemuria has a very defined sound and they manage not to fall into a groove of repetition. The only minor drawback is the dull mixing of there first album but as I said that's minor. Both these albums are a very complete listen as I think I appreciate them more when I sit down absorb them. I'm ashamed to say that I actually tossed these guys to the side of the pile when I downloaded there first album three years ago mainly due to the harshness of the vocals. A big thanks to Tid for the push, as I probably wouldn't have gave these another listen without him

Album Quality:

Tales, Ale And Fire (2005) - V0 MP3 / VBR
Chanson De La Croisade (2010) - V2 MP3 / VBR (scene rip)