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Titans Eve - The Divine Equal review



Reviewer:
9.0

18 users:
7.56
Band: Titans Eve
Album: The Divine Equal
Release date: February 2011


01. Mourning Star (Intro)
02. Judgement
03. Becoming The Demon
04. Into The Fire
05. Serpent Rising
06. Tides Of Doom
07. Dusk
08. Nightfall
09. Living Lifeless
10. Searching For Nothing
11. The Divine Equal

Whoever said "pushing the envelope" is the key to fresh sounding music is full of shit, and obviously needs to listen to Titans Eve. Seriously, this is pure, undiluted thrash that manages to stick within the genres boundaries without resorting to unimaginative rehashing of the old school.

The components that make The Divine Equal what it is is nothing new, but for some reason the amalgamation of different influences makes this album something special. It almost sounds as if you took Amon Amarth's infectious rhythm section, and combined it with a little bit of Testament and Entombed. Then we get to the guitar leads, they sound completely out of place - but in a good way. Many of them sound more akin to your European "viking" melodeath, than they do to North American thrash...yet somehow it all sounds entirely natural. Nothing in the album "blends in" or just sits in the background; everything is attention grabbing, infectious, and at times, downright epic.

As good as this album is, I can only imagine how restrained this album sounds in relativity to the live setting. Most of these songs sound like thrash metal anthems concocted for the sheer purpose of moving the crowds; the rhythm section pushing the songs forward at a thundering pace, lay a few epic leads over top, then leading the charge are some monstrous sounding chorus'. I suppose that's the sign of a good album though, when you say to yourself "I need to see this live!" through the majority of the album. If 2011 indeed does turn out to be another year cram-packed full of top-notch thrash releases, it would be crime to see The Divine Equal not riding high on everyone's radar.


Rating breakdown
Performance: 9
Songwriting: 9
Originality: 9
Production: 9





Written on 02.02.2011 by Former EIC. Now just a reviewer guy.


Comments

Comments: 8   Visited by: 226 users
02.02.2011 - 02:56
Yojimbo

It's pretty cool but the vocals don't seem to work for me. I feel higher pitched death vocals, similar to At The Gates, would work better. Or even a harsher grindcore style.
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02.02.2011 - 03:04
thesabbathfan

I'm from the same area as these guys and my bands played with them. they fucking rule! get this album!!!
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02.02.2011 - 07:05
Rating: 8
R'Vannith
ghedengi
Great review, you describe their sound perfectly. As for the vocals, I think they fit in this context, they're bordering on harsh and manage to pull off the thrashy melodies really well, similar to Chuck Billy, but a bit cleaner.
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02.02.2011 - 10:14
LeChron James
Helvetesfossen
This album is pretty good so far. The vocals aren't bad either.
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Kick Ass, Die Young

Less is More
Stay Pure
Stay Poor

Music was my life, music brought me to life and music is how I will be remembered long after I leave this life. When I die there will be a final waltz in my head that only I can hear.
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02.02.2011 - 22:10
Rating: 8
Death To Posers
Hate Thy King
The albums raw. The vocals aren't bad, they kind of sound like Chuck Billy on The Gathering in a way like mentioned above (Probably not as good IMO though). The track "Tides of Doom" reminds me of Trivium at times if you listen to "Detonation" and "Down from the Sky", but faster and more aggressive (read: better). The only problem I had with the album was that the vocals seemed to drown everything else out, which was easy to fix by turning the mid-range down a bit.
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The word gen means "illusion" or "apparition." In India, a man who uses conjury is called a genjutsushi ["a master of illusion technique"]. Everything in this world is but a marionette show. Thus we use the word gen.
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03.02.2011 - 16:18
Valentin B
Iconoclast
I think the band's name is a nod to the 80s thrash band Hallows Eve and maybe the NWOBHM band Tytan. anyway sounds interesting, might give this a try sometime.
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16.03.2012 - 17:34
Lokaeda
Account deleted
If you like this, I recommand you check out Arcania's "Sweet Angel Dust". It's a French thrash band (from my hometown) that reminds me a bit of this
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16.03.2012 - 23:55
Druss

Cheers for reviving this thread, I really enjoyed the samples of this album I heard. If I'd've known of it in time, I may have voted for it in the awards (as none of the nominees clicked with me).
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