Band:	Old Man's Child
Album:	Vermin
Style:	Symphonic black metal
Release date:	October 17, 2005
Guest review by:	Deadmeat

01. Enslaved And Condemned
02. The Plague Of Sorrow
03. War Of Fidelity
04. In Torment's Orbit
05. Lord Of Command (Bringer Of Hate)
06. The Flames Of Deceit
07. Black Marvels Of Death
08. Twilight Damnation
09. ...As Evil Descends
10. Born Of The Flickering [Re-Recorded Version] [Japanese bonus]

Vermin is the sixth studio album of Old Man's Child but it's the first one I'm listening from this band. That's the reason why I'm not going to compare this stuff with any previous release from the band, as it would be unfair for the other ones.

So, what do we have here? We have Melodic Black Metal, we have nice guitar work (the melodies combine paranoia and regret), a very good drummer doing all the "dirty work" and "Galder", the guitarist of Dimmu Borgir doing all the rest. We have some very nice songs but also some other more mediocre ones? We have powerful songs with many fast parts, slower songs with atmospheric elements and many keyboards and other more neutral, following the classic Melodic Black Metal formula.

Trying to choose the best song of Vermin I am between "The Flames Of Deceit" and "Twilight Damnation". The first one is a thrashy black metal song with very good melodic parts. "Twilight Damnation" is a very different song with great guitars too, but also with much more keyboards and effects. On the other side, "Lord Of Command (Bringer Of Hate)" is possibly the worst song of the album; it's just a tiring song.

The cover art of the album is very good and smart (check it out and translate it as you think). The band continues writing lyrics in the same way they did in the previous albums: "Evil", "Death" and "Hate" are the most common words you'll meet in Old Man's Child lyrics. The production of Vermin is well done, highlighting the guitars and at the same time creating a great atmosphere -with the keyboards' help.

To sum up now, we have a good album, much above the average, from a part-time band (actually a one-man band). So, if you're into Black metal, then you should get this one, it's a good album and I'm sure you'll enjoy it.