No doubt this album is a musical masterpiece and The album I was very under ether...Never forget because Created beautiful moments for me

I totally agree a true masterpiece 10/10, i love the epic 8 minute+ songs

I like this album but they really have should have made the guitars more audible, For the most part you can just faintly hear them underneath the keyboards.

This is the best Empyrium album for me... yep, even better than their second album. Every song is fantastic.

A great record no doubt but they still weren't completely "there" yet compared to Songs Of Moors And Misty Fields.

Written by X-Ray Rod on 12.11.2012 at 22:49

A great record no doubt but they still weren't completely "there" yet compared to Songs Of Moors And Misty Fields.

I see what you mean. Songs Of Moors And Misty Fields seems a bit more refined/polished, though I still prefer A Wintersunset... to it.

A masterpiece.

Nice, but nothing memorable...at least my initial impression.

Written by LeKiwi on 08.12.2013 at 22:48

Nice, but nothing memorable...at least my initial impression.

Lesson #3 when rating albums: "Don't rate an album when you only have an initial impression of it."

Written by Erik M. on 18.12.2013 at 23:20

Lesson #3 when rating albums: "Don't rate an album when you only have an initial impression of it."

I skim through hundreds of albums in a year so I've developed a sense of what they're worth after one listen Ask your buddy Marcel - he thinks in a similar manner Plus I don't have the time to listen to something I don't think is worth it just to make sure...

Edit: I know this album is in your top 75 and probably want to punch me for rating it a 6

Written by LeKiwi on 18.12.2013 at 23:25

I skim through hundreds of albums in a year so I've developed a sense of what they're worth after one listen Ask your buddy Marcel - he thinks in a similar manner Plus I don't have the time to listen to something I don't think is worth it just to make sure...

If I don't "KNOW" an album I simply don't judge (rate) it. Rating an album when you only have a first impression is totally unfair. An opinion can easily change after multiple listens. In fact, it literally always does in my case, so that's why I rarely rate albums after a first listen and then never check 'em out again. But in the end it's your call. The only thing I say now is that I suggest you to at least give it a try or two more. There's a reason I have handed out a 10 to this album. If you checked my votes you'd know I only have 22 out of 400+ 10's so I'm not one of those people who hands out 10's when "I like the album". Anyway, if you truly dislike it, fine by me... this brilliant music isn't for everyone.

Written by Erik M. on 18.12.2013 at 23:33

If I don't "KNOW" an album I simply don't judge (rate) it. Rating an album when you only have a first impression is totally unfair. An opinion can easily change after multiple listens. In fact, it literally always does in my case, so that's why I rarely rate albums after a first listen and then never check 'em out again. But in the end it's your call. The only thing I say now is that I suggest you to at least give it a try or two more. There's a reason I have handed out a 10 to that. If you checked my votes you'd know I only have 22 out of 400+ 10's so I'm not one of those people who hands out 10's when "I like the album". Anyway, if you truly dislike it, fine by me... this brilliant music isn't for everyone.

I definitely give more time to albums that require them, namely prog, avantgarde, and experimental metal. This was too simplistic to warrant another listen. Just to make sure I went back and listened to a few tracks since your reply 20 mins ago and my opinion hasn't changed To be fair, I almost always give albums a second chance, but my opinions don't really change when I've been acquainted with a sub-genre. I found that my opinions changed dramatically before I could appreciate and enjoy the extreme portion of metal, but since then, not so much

Written by LeKiwi on 18.12.2013 at 23:40

I definitely give more time to albums that require them, namely prog, avantgarde, and experimental metal. This was too simplistic to warrant another listen. Just to make sure I went back and listened to a few tracks since your reply 20 mins ago and my opinion hasn't changed To be fair, I almost always give albums a second chance, but my opinions don't really change when I've been acquainted with a sub-genre. I found that my opinions changed dramatically before I could appreciate and enjoy the extreme portion of metal, but since then, not so much

I see. But don't make the mistake of judging music by its complexity. I don't think you can measure the quality of music by complexity. Of course it depends on the genre, but in case of Empyrium it just works perfectly. It doesn't need to be complex at all in my opinion.

Written by Erik M. on 18.12.2013 at 23:45

I see. But don't make the mistake of judging music by its complexity. I don't think you can measure the quality of music by complexity. Of course it depends on the genre, but in case of Empyrium it just works perfectly. It doesn't need to be complex at all in my opinion.

I agree completely; complexity doesn't imply quality at all

Written by LeKiwi on 18.12.2013 at 23:53

I agree completely; complexity doesn't imply quality at all

Good, then this discussion is over.

Written by Erik M. on 18.12.2013 at 23:20
Lesson #3 when rating albums: "Don't rate an album when you only have an initial impression of it."

I think that's more of a guideline than a lesson. A lot of people are able to properly judge an album based on a single listen. In some cases their opinion may change in time and/or with more listens, but that doesn't mean multiple listens are required for a proper assessment.

Written by Troy Killjoy on 18.12.2013 at 23:58

I think that's more of a guideline than a lesson. A lot of people are able to properly judge an album based on a single listen. In some cases their opinion may change in time and/or with more listens, but that doesn't mean multiple listens are required for a proper assessment.

I wasn't being 100% serious though, haha. I was just making stuff up, but what I said is still true in my case. I've discussed this with Marcel because he can apparently judge an album after just one spin. I just can't do that, ever.

Written by X-Ray Rod on 12.11.2012 at 22:49

A great record no doubt but they still weren't completely "there" yet compared to Songs Of Moors And Misty Fields.

Having listened to both a few times again recently, I must say that the style of both albums is hardly the same. Many people, including myself until just now, talk about these albums like their style is identical, but A Wintersunset... is way more symphonic (synth-driven) and more doomy while SOMAMF is more melodic (rather than symphonic) and has much more neofolk and less doom in its sound. So to someone who has listened to both records lots of times, the difference in style in quite big. And it happens to be that I'm in the minority because I enjoy this one much more overall nowadays.

Written by Troy Killjoy on 18.12.2013 at 23:58

Written by Erik M. on 18.12.2013 at 23:20
Lesson #3 when rating albums: "Don't rate an album when you only have an initial impression of it."

I think that's more of a guideline than a lesson. A lot of people are able to properly judge an album based on a single listen. In some cases their opinion may change in time and/or with more listens, but that doesn't mean multiple listens are required for a proper assessment.

This is true on me with stuff like power / black / melodic death metal, I can judge if I like those albums after one spin, doom subgenres though like Funeral and Death doom I need at least 3-4 full listens to make an opinion on them.

Wow I really do not like this band anymore. I used to love them quite a bit. Now I find them way too fluffy and over-saturated with similar sounding melodies. Oh well, one less band to keep on my iPod

It's very nice to listen to this record again after many years. It makes me feel not only nostalgic, but also mesmerized.

Mehhh. Nothing special here. Saturnus debut (which was released the same year) is totally superior.

I've never really checked out doom metal and my god I think I missed on a lot, this is absolutely wonderful, I love the black metalish feel to it especially with the keyboards that fit perfectly. I feel like I really need to check out some more 90's doom because this is just brilliant

Written by Roman Doez on 23.11.2020 at 20:43

I've never really checked out doom metal and my god I think I missed on a lot, this is absolutely wonderful, I love the black metalish feel to it especially with the keyboards that fit perfectly. I feel like I really need to check out some more 90's doom because this is just brilliant

This comment fits to my view as well. I'm delving into doom and trying to figure out what I like and what I don't. At the moment I've mainly stayed by traditional heavy metal doom because funeral doom is, for instance, too slow for me - I get distracted and it gets too boring too fast for me.

This album, on the other hand, even though it's very atmospheric (like funeral doom), I really enjoy the keyboard melodies and the varied vocals (sometimes sounding like gothic metal, sometimes like atmospheric black). Very nice, relaxing ambience

This reminds me of Moonspell's Wolfheart album. Rather gothy.