When I first heard the "Roots to Sever" single, I said YES! I thought the whole album would be a masterpiece like the song they've already released. But then, got the album, listened a few times repeatedly, and didn't liked it much. I was expecting more. Although It's good, but not better than before.

I don't get why people expect bands to keep releasing awesome albums. They don't have a machine that produces awesome music. They create these albums and you should respect that, and copying the same albums would be boring!! .. This album is decent but not a masterpiece.

Written by Coconut Racecar on 05.07.2016 at 04:12

Written by JayMo4 on 28.06.2016 at 02:49

Metalstorm sure has a hard-on for melodeath. Can't believe this album is averaging a 9 - easily the highest score of any album this year to date - after almost 150 people have reviewed it. It's not even the best Be'lakor album, much less better than the stuff Vektor and Moonsorrow have released in '16.

Same thing happened last year with Insomnium.

I'm really not trying to bash these bands. Both albums are decent enough, but I wouldn't call either of them special. It's all subjective... I guess i'm just not quite on the same page.

Would have to agree. I'd like to find a site one day that has a hard on for brutal death metal because this site sure doesn't.

It's all opinion really but it's kind of frustrating when you see a bunch of highly rated bands/albums, check them out and find that they're just "meh."

I have been listening to 'Vessels' yeasterday, and it is not my cup of tea, i love death metal but this is far from interesting i have changed it to 'The Poisonous Path' by Behexen, far more listenable

In my opinion, this is better than of Breath and Bone. Though they shouldn't have faded out the first track, An Ember's Arc as an opener would have been good. Withering Strands and The Smokes of Many Fires are two of the best melo death tracks I have heard this year. All in all a solid effort by them, hats off. Rating : 8.5 (since we don't have decimal rating, bumped it up to 9)

Written by Hellcult on 24.08.2016 at 16:48

Written by Coconut Racecar on 05.07.2016 at 04:12

Written by JayMo4 on 28.06.2016 at 02:49

Metalstorm sure has a hard-on for melodeath. Can't believe this album is averaging a 9 - easily the highest score of any album this year to date - after almost 150 people have reviewed it. It's not even the best Be'lakor album, much less better than the stuff Vektor and Moonsorrow have released in '16.

Same thing happened last year with Insomnium.

I'm really not trying to bash these bands. Both albums are decent enough, but I wouldn't call either of them special. It's all subjective... I guess i'm just not quite on the same page.

Would have to agree. I'd like to find a site one day that has a hard on for brutal death metal because this site sure doesn't.

It's all opinion really but it's kind of frustrating when you see a bunch of highly rated bands/albums, check them out and find that they're just "meh."

I have been listening to 'Vessels' yeasterday, and it is not my cup of tea, i love death metal but this is far from interesting i have changed it to 'The Poisonous Path' by Behexen, far more listenable

Great conversation you guys have here But dont bash on Insomnium. Btw, what was your thought about Subrosa better or worse than the other albums?

This is not a bad album, but i expected more from Be'Lakor. After Stone's reach Masterpiece it's dificult to mantain that level i know, but this album, i don't know ... It kinda needs something .. I start listening to it, and after 2 or 3 songs i'm not paying atention to it anymore ...

This year i think Insomnium gonna get the MDM Album of the year easily

Be'lakor>>>Insomnium

Vessels is the worst of their 4 releases. A dissapointment. Of course it contains some amazing musical moments especially in the ending of some songs, but in generall the band didnt manage to create awesome songs from the first to the last second. Only Roots to Sever is good imo...

Keep in mind, for my harsh words, that this band has created some awesome shit in the past years...

Written by Deadmeat on 18.10.2016 at 12:29

Vessels is the worst of their 4 releases. A dissapointment. Of course it contains some amazing musical moments especially in the ending of some songs, but in generall the band didnt manage to create awesome songs from the first to the last second. Only Roots to Sever is good imo...

That doesn't read out like 8/10 to me if there's only one truly solid track. I think there's way more than that yet we rate it the same, haha.

Yea, 8s are never disappointments for me. 7s are though if I had really high expectations for the band/album

Written by Risto on 18.10.2016 at 12:31

Written by Deadmeat on 18.10.2016 at 12:29

Vessels is the worst of their 4 releases. A dissapointment. Of course it contains some amazing musical moments especially in the ending of some songs, but in generall the band didnt manage to create awesome songs from the first to the last second. Only Roots to Sever is good imo...

That doesn't read out like 8/10 to me if there's only one truly solid track. I think there's way more than that yet we rate it the same, haha.

of course it doesnt read out if you dont quote also my last phrase which is the reason for my harsh words

Written by Deadmeat on 18.10.2016 at 16:18

of course it doesnt read out if you dont quote also my last phrase which is the reason for my harsh words

It's not relevant, 8/10 isn't harsh.

Written by Risto on 18.10.2016 at 16:58

Written by Deadmeat on 18.10.2016 at 16:18

of course it doesnt read out if you dont quote also my last phrase which is the reason for my harsh words

It's not relevant, 8/10 isn't harsh.

i never said it is a bad album in generall. My main complaint was that it is their WORST.

Never have gotten through a complete listen through of one of their albums -- always have to piece it together over a few listening sessions. Never will understand why they get so much praise here. Behold the metalstorm holy trinity of power metal, melodic metal, and Agalloch!!!

I use this CD as motivation to grade papers. Also to kick shit over. That last track is the perfect ending to an album. \m/ Keep doing what you do boys.

I don't understand why people keep hating on melodeath. It's my favourite genre, and while some bands can be a bit bland and repetitive, there is so much out there and great variety among the different bands! Be'lakor have made a great addition to the genre with this fantastic album. Very enjoyable and never boring. Especially "The Smoke Of Many Fires" is an exceptional song, it's hauntingly beautiful with its clever use of (I guess) keyboard somewhere in the chorus. Love it!

Written by Therapy? on 08.12.2016 at 15:51

I don't understand why people keep hating on melodeath. It's my favourite genre, and while some bands can be a bit bland and repetitive...

All genres of metal are very repetitive, and anyone who tells you otherwise is biased. Thrash? Death? Symphonic? All of them have cookie-cutter, run-of-the-mill bands, but they all have some great ones, too.

I never get sick of these guys ...or their sound. Another remarkable release from them.

I really don't understand the dick-riding for Stone's Reach. IMO that album was super dull and merely had fragments of good songs whereas their more recent material is much more consistently flowing and mature. All this while not skimping on the riff either. Excellent stuff.

This remains my disappointment of the year. When you compare it to the earlier albums, there is a noticeable drop in energy and dynamism to every track presented here. Even the vocals have deteriorated. There is just nothing to Be'lakor here that I find enthralling- better luck next time, fellas.

This was my first experience with Be'lakor and I enjoyed it quite a bit. I used to really like Insomnium before they got boring so Be'lakor's sound was easy enough to get used to and I think they made a much better album than Insomnium's Winter's Gate. That being said, I felt like certain sections could have been more lively or interesting but for what this album was it was near perfect and I'll probably work my way backwards through their discography now.

Even though I don't particularly favor this album from Be'lakor (I think the predecessor was better, not to mention Stone's Reach), I can't pass by the effort on how hard they are trying to make a horse beaten to death (melodeath) still come alive. Each of their releases successfully implement something fresh. While Insomnium could only deliver concept-wise for a decade now, Be'lakor upped their songwriting chops a thousandfold since the debut, even if it's not always perfect they are definitely on to something great.

Someone knows what they say in the whispers parts?:thumbup:

Written by Diverge on 28.12.2016 at 18:25

This remains my disappointment of the year. When you compare it to the earlier albums, there is a noticeable drop in energy and dynamism to every track presented here. Even the vocals have deteriorated. There is just nothing to Be'lakor here that I find enthralling- better luck next time, fellas.

Let me help u, it grows with every listen! Just 1 song is hard for some people to find enjoyable moment in it and that is Withering Strands. In first listenings I was like u I was disappointed so much, but now after 3 years I listen to this album more than their other albums. In my opinion it's their most special album and another masterpiece

One thing you can't knock Be'lakor for is knowing how to conclude a song. Their song structure is top-tier and has been since their debut, in which its only flaw was a weak production that muffled the density of subsequent releases. Say what you will about the stagnant nature of melodeath (as if that's an exclusive trait) but this is about as fresh as it gets without genre-hopping.

The traditional spike riffs take a backseat and the typical focus on establishing a gloomy vibe has now shifted towards creating a majestic, epic feel through use of melodic shredding still extremely similar to their earlier material, but this time around it's as if the songs are telling one long story rather than simply presenting highlights of catchy single-story moments in each song. There are pros and cons to both of those styles, but to disregard this album as a letdown simply for altering the surface layer is a bit naive in my opinion. The foundation has remained the same since the debut; the differences between each album are merely aesthetic.

This reeks of Stone's Reach energy, but people act like it's some massive departure of sound or something. If you mix a playlist of tracks from their three albums not named A Frail Tide and show them off to someone who's never heard the Be'lakor name before, they'd be incredibly hard-pressed to point out any significant differences and would likely assume they're all from the same album.

For me this is the typical case of a band losing something, the special touch, when they lose their drummer, like Blind Guardian, Týr, Fear Factory, Slayer... Can you imagine for example Krisiun losing their drummer, It would no longer be Krisiun!

"The Smoke Of Many Fires" - their best song to date.

Listened to this record twice so far, incredible front to back. The last track is insane.

Definitely an improvement over the previous album imo. Although admittedly it's not the easiest album to get through all in one sitting. I agree with what people say about the song "The Smoke Of Many Fires", it's easily the best song on this album, and also their best song to date imo.