Band:	Hollenthon
Album:	Opus Magnum
Style:	Melodic death metal, Symphonic metal
Release date:	May 30, 2008
A review by:	Marcel Hubregtse

01. On The Wings Of A Dove
02. To Fabled Lands
03. Son Of Perdition
04. Ars Moriendi
05. Once We Were Kings
06. Of Splendid Worlds
07. Dying Embers
08. Misterium Babel
09. The Bazaar [The Tea Party cover] [bonus]
+ Son Of Perdition [video]

Have you ever had that feeling that you are afraid to be let down by something you have been looking forward to for a very long time? Well, that happened to me when I got the advance copy of Hollenthon's latest album in my hands. Seven long years have I yearned for it.

Hollenthon have always been a band to surprise the hell out of the metal communtiy with their releases. Their 1999 Domus Mundi debut blew us away with its myriad of ethnic influences and 2001's With Vilest Of Worms To Dwell let go of the ethnicity and just grabbed me by the balls with its sheer orchestral bombast.

So what does Opus Magnum hold in store for us? Will it truly be their Opus Magnum? They had seven years to work on it. Will those seven years have been of the biblical lean variety or have been seven rich ones? After about 1,000 spins I am still not 100% sure what it is. But it is a bit disappointing nonetheless.

Hollethon, disappointing? I hear the masses yell out. Off with his head... Yes, disappointing (at least it was for me). I was expecting something entirely unique once again, but what we got here is some sort of compromise between Domus Mundi and With Vilest Of Worms To Dwell, but even slicker sounding than With Vilest Of Worms To Dwell. It's almost as if, dare I say it?, Hollenthon is trying to market the masses. Somehow it's not only the sound of the album that is more accessible but also the songs. It is still Hollenthon through and through and immediately recognisable from the first note of opener On The Wings Of A Dove through to the very last note of Misterium Babel.

Let's not focus on the disappointment of this old man. It's still the music that has to do all the talking, right? Well, let me assure you that Opus Magnum still has bands such as Therion and Haggard running straight for their mommies crying. Now, this is how orchestral metal should sound like. It should have a natural flow to it with both the orchestrated and non-orchestrated parts in balance. And that's what the listener will get a perfectly balanced accessible slab of orchestral melodic death metal with some ethnic influences.

On The Wings Of A Dove kicks off with that unmistakeable Hollenthon sound, full of bombast trying to overwhelm the listener with its crystal clear production and layer upon layer of instrumentation. At times seeming to speed up only to hold back in pace and then on again, but never reaching that much anticipated climax. It's like a long session of sex that just seems to go somewhere unexpected but all of a sudden ends due to the cat that snuck in and decided to snuggle herself in between the two of you. To Fabled Lands brings actually more of the same, once again holding no surprises. Nicely built up and very adequately played, but where the hell is that sucker punch you had come to expect from Hollenthon, where is that uppercut, that hook? Or is that the what these Austrians are striving for? Fooling around with the experienced fan of theirs. Well, if that was their goal, then they have succeeded. This procedure is followed for almost the entire duration of the album. Orchestrated metal that nestles itself in the listener's head not let go anymore, but, alas, without any surprises. That is until the first tones of Once We Were Kings, which actually promises that adventure I had been seeking. But, damn, again the cat creeps into the bedroom. Aah the tempo is upped during Of Splendid Worlds but already climaxes after about one minute. What have we here? A ballad? Pfew that was a close shave, only Dying Embers' first forty seconds reeked of balladesque hinterland. But once again it evolves into the typical bombastic style we have now grown so used to. 38 minutes gone, and not a single surprise yet. By now I have given up all hope of surprises, so I just sit back to let the final eight minutes of Misterium Babel envelop me by means of the most perfect production I have heard in years.

Damn, hey, oriental chanting, what the...? I start jumping of joy in my bedroom shouting Domus Mundi, Domus Mundi, Domus Mundi. But, please wait first since they have put me on the wrong foot a couple of times already on Opus Magnum. But, no, really, this is eight minutes of sheer bliss. What a built up, what an execution, there's finally actually some spite and venom Martin's vocal delivery. They have saved the best for last. Thank God.

So, all in all it is safe to conclude that this has not turned out to be Hollenthon's Opus Magnum but a very well executed safe and, dare I say it? commercial album. But even a commercial album such as this easily outruns competitors such as the earlier mention Therion and Haggard. But was it worth the seven year long draught? Unfortunately not.
Just on the basis of its perfect production and flawless execution and prize winner Misterium Babel does this album manage to scrape in an 8/10. But, guys, next time, if you deliver another piece of work such as this that holds next to none surprises I will be harsher with my grading.

It is safe to conclude that people who are unfamiliar with Hollethon would do wise by getting Opus Magnum as their first album by these Austrians and then to work their way back through the catalogue. As for die hard fans? Pick it up, enjoy it on its merits, but, alas, not such a classic as Domus Mundi and With Vilest Of Worms To Dwell.