Lux Occulta
Dionysos
[Pagan]
If Graveland is Poland’s Darkthrone, Lux Occulta could well be Poland’s
Cradle of Filth. With this, I am not referring to commerciality, but overall
accessability. If there is a band that would turn the eyes of the wider metal
audience to Poland, it would most likely be Lux Occulta. This, their second
album is a compromise between esoteric occult in-depth knowledge and cheesy
gothic keyboard orchestrations, reminding of certain movie soundtracks. This
work certainly is individualistic, but is their any content? Musically, Lux
Occulta is proficient but not technical. The keyboard work is complex but not
entirely dominant. Vocals are mostly quite thin, yet aggressive, sometimes
even melodramatic in the top of the melodic, very constructed music. An
obvious understanding of classical music shows here, yet with a tendency of
falling towards the easy way, the trap of pop-music and easy, catchy
soundtrack tunes that convey atmospheres and help in the individual
progressions of nice songs, but not in the construction of a work of deep
occult magnitude that probably is the goal of this band. The riffs are not
entirely linear and work reasonably originally against the keyboards,
occasionally with direct correlation, occasionally more indirectly. The fast
and fervent double-bass kicks aid the majestic tension in the music and the
snare beats coupled with the cymbal slashes are slower, as the melodies reach
their climax in a pseudo-classical manner.
As a conclusion I will say, yes, there is content to this music. This album
will actually have the most appeal for the "middle-way" of black metal
audience, as the purists will not appreciate the entertainment factor and the
most mainstream people will be bored by the inner seriousness and lack of
distinct hooks in the music.
© 1999 black hate