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Dark Suns - Grave Human Genuine review




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Reviewer:
8.0

49 users:
7.73
Band: Dark Suns
Album: Grave Human Genuine
Release date: February 2008


01. Stampede
02. Flies In Amber
03. Thornchild
04. Rapid Eyes Moment
05. Amphibian Halo
06. The Chameleon Defect
07. Free Of You
08. Papillon
09. 29 [Digipak bonus]

Wow, am I listening to a new band? I remember that the first album of the German combo Dark Suns was really similar to the music of Opeth and it was good even if obviously some personality was missing. Their second album was a lot more progressive and less Death Metal but the new release "Grave Human Genuine" is a radical turnover. Dark Suns now plays pure Progressive melancholic Metal and the people who like Porcupine Tree or Pain of Salvation should have a look on this release, because it's good music really.

I use to listen to a lot of bands of Progressive bands like Porcupine Tree, POS or even Pink Floyd. If Dark Suns was a band whicch used to play Death (Progressive) in the past, the German combo is now a pure Progressive act. It's a good change in my opinion because now the music of Dark Suns is a lot more personal but also intimist. Though you have to know that it's really complex and not so easy of access. The songs are all long with dark atmospheric passages and it's not so easy to enter in the music of the new Dark Suns. That probably the main "problem" of this album, it's good Progressive music but it's really elitist too and you'll not find any catchy choruses in "Grave Human Genuine"? It should be ok for the fans of complex Prog Metal but all the people who want Prog a la Symphony X will be quickly bored by the album. Dark Suns plays a music in the vein of Porcupine Tree now, so be aware of that important fact, if you dislike electronic sounds, if you don't like cold ambiances and if you're looking for "tralala" Power Metal choruses, this is definitely not for you!

"Grave Human Genuine" is well produced and you'll have the nice surprise to find Mr Kristoffer Gildenlöw (ex Pain of Salvation) at the bass guitar! It's great because this instrument is really important in the new compositions of Dark Suns and of course he was the perfect element to play this instrument on such Progressive release. No really "Grave Human Genuine" is a classy album of Prog Metal, not really easy of access and maybe a bit too complex sometime but all in all it's a nice album and I can already tell you that Dark Suns will become famous in the genre if they find the way to add some little things to their next releases (some melodies a bit more catchy for example?).

"Grave Human Genuine" is a good Progressive album. It's maybe not perfect and too elitist on a side but it's classy music and proves that Dark Suns is a unique band with members who know how to write personal music if they want to do it. Highly recommended to all the fans of Porcupine Tree, Anathema or Pain Of Salvation!


Rating breakdown
Performance: 8
Songwriting: 8
Originality: 8
Production: 8

Written by Jeff | 05.03.2008




Comments

Comments: 12   Visited by: 165 users
06.03.2008 - 11:18
ylside

Ah, the new Dark Suns. Will check.
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06.03.2008 - 14:36
Damnated
Churchburner
still too much Opeth influence.
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Written by TheBigRossowski on 10.02.2009 at 16:01

if my wife and I can't conceive, I want a medical shipment of your sperm so our baby will be just like you.
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06.03.2008 - 21:44
Rating: 8
Katatronik
Angel of Lust
Good album indeed! Though IMO "Existence" is way better...
Good review!
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and the oldest and strongest kind of fear is fear of the unknown."
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07.03.2008 - 00:24
Rating: 8
Harlequin

Very interesting album. Some parts just make your ears melt away..
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00:40 - Doomface
Mikael Akerfeldt doesn't age like humans do.
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07.03.2008 - 02:54
Rating: 7
Promonex
Cathemeral
Gave it three tries so far, haven't managed to get any further than the third track though. I absolutely loved "Existence", but I'm having a damn hard time getting into this. One certainly recognizes the massive influence Disillusion had on the band in the past years. Will give it another try when I'm in the mood again.
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07.03.2008 - 15:29
dancingdecember

i dont like pos but i love porcupine tree.i hope i'll like this one.but on the other hand i dont want all bands to go prog metal(is it the new trend with these type of bands?)because they can fail so miserably.anyway if things go bad i will always have the first 2 albums to listen but i believe they managed it.
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10.03.2008 - 20:30
Evil Chip

The vocalist sounds a lot like mikael akerfeldt and the music has some opeth moments. Still I think their music is great and well done.
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29.04.2008 - 05:38
Protag
Account deleted
I think they have moved away from the Opeth influence & flex their muscles more in the direction of bands like Klimt1918 or The Provenance. I loved their first 2 albums but this one is much more rewarding because it takes more attentive listening to pick up all the nuances making it a much more rewarding experience as it reveals itself. Background music at parties this is not.
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10.02.2009 - 11:36
Rating: 9
Jeeers

A brilliant album! This band is a big surprise for me. The song "Flies In Amber" is one of the best metal songs ever (in my humble opinion)
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11.02.2009 - 12:59
Darkside Momo
Retired
Interesting but not really to my tastes. There are only two songs I really liked : Amphibian Halo and The Chameleon Defect. Strangely, it's where you can sense Disillusion's influence the most...
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11.06.2013 - 05:47
Rating: 8
LeKiwi
High Fist Prog
"Perfect element"
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12.11.2013 - 16:48
Rating: 8
LeKiwi
High Fist Prog
Written by Damnated on 06.03.2008 at 14:36

still too much Opeth influence.

There's hardly such an overt influence beyond the first two tracks. The most prominent associations would be with Pain Of Salvation, Riverside, or Porcupine Tree.
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