Taranis - Kingdom review
| Band: | Taranis |
| Album: | Kingdom |
| Style: | Symphonic black metal, Progressive metal |
| Release date: | January 01, 2012 |
| A review by: | Troy Killjoy |
01. Storm
02. Dominion
03. Glory
04. Origin
Taranis is a one-man project founded by Attila Bakos over 10 years ago. If that name doesn't mean anything to you, it's probably because you didn't bother checking out Thy Catafalque's Rengeteg or Róka Hasa Rádió - albums that benefit from the addition of his vocal talents. For those of you who enjoyed his melodious singing, you will be more than pleased with this release.
Kingdom is quite an ambitious mixture of progressive metal and symphonic black metal, highlighted by Bakos' emotional vocal delivery.
The music itself takes a bit of a backseat to his overwhelming power, but it's still worth mentioning. It's quite obvious early on that you aren't going to be in for a combination of genius, but the melancholic melodies and catchy riffs still have the ability to command your undivided attention. Averaging 10 minutes per song, you're in for a rather tumultuous journey if you weren't expecting such a grandiose undertaking, but the conclusion promises just reward for your efforts.
Which brings us to that reward. Bakos ensnares the listener from the beginning, careful to hold them in place while conveying everything on his mind in astonishing fashion, declaring his presence in a more-than-dramatic fashion. He breaks into more traditional black metal shrieks for added theatrics, which accompany the music perfectly. His passionate expression practically takes you by the hand and raises you from your seat, guiding you through the stupefying scenery the kingdom has to offer.
With this style of music, one is always left with an understandable hesitation. Is it too cheesy?
And the answer is... well, no. Not too cheesy. But there is definitely a lack of extremity surrounding this release that will turn off a great deal of elitists and casual listeners who simply don't like "epic" music and soaring clean vocals. Think Ihsahn or ICS Vortex with slightly more folk-inspired leanings and you'll know exactly what to expect.
Rating breakdown
| Performance: | 9 |
| Songwriting: | 8 |
| Originality: | 8 |
| Production: | 9 |
 | Written on 16.01.2012 by I'm total pro; that's what I'm here for. |
Comments
Comments: 28
Visited by: 391 users
| Troy Killjoy perfunctionist Staff Posts: 21306  |
Full stream here.
---- "Wise men talk because they have something to say; fools because they have to say something."
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| 3rdWorld China was a neat Posts: 4367  |
Well, THy Catafelque didnt do anything for me. But it was very melodic and nice. Shud check this out sometime.
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| Troy Killjoy perfunctionist Staff Posts: 21306 |
Written by 3rdWorld on 16.01.2012 at 10:50 Musically I wasn't trying to compare them, just mentioned them since a lot of people seem to dig them and one of the guest vocalists just so happened to have his own release. 
---- "Wise men talk because they have something to say; fools because they have to say something."
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| Zealot644 Posts: 157  |
Written by Troy Killjoy on 16.01.2012 at 10:19 More bands/artists need to start using bandcamp IMO. Although it wasnt the case here, I have had difficulties in finding music to sample by certain bands before.
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| Susan Smeghead Elite Posts: 6941  |
Came for the cover art. Stayed for the awesome review. Powerful vocals? Ihsahn-esque with more folk leanings? Mixture of prog and symphonic black? Hell to the yes 
---- "A life all mine Is what I choose At the end of my days" --The Gathering "A Life All Mine" from Souvenirs
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| Enissa Posts: 816  |
Nice review, and very good album! came across it by a friend, I really agree on the ideas here, nice job!
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| X-Ray Rod Skandino Staff Posts: 18384  |
Found it meh, would drop a full point at least.
---- Written by BloodTears on 19.08.2011 at 18:29 Written by Milena on 20.06.2012 at 10:49
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| VloRD Posts: 113  |
To be honest, the clean vocals just make me cringe. It ain't me being all elitist, I guess I've got my mind tuned to harsh vocals, at least when it comes to black metal.
---- 
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| Susan Smeghead Elite Posts: 6941 |
Listened, then purchased. Wow  2012 is off to an amazing start!!
---- "A life all mine Is what I choose At the end of my days" --The Gathering "A Life All Mine" from Souvenirs
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| Troy Killjoy perfunctionist Staff Posts: 21306 |
Written by Susan on 16.01.2012 at 17:40 Agreed. You were actually the first person I thought of when I first heard this. Promo and Momo and Mora too... but you first of course. 
---- "Wise men talk because they have something to say; fools because they have to say something."
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| TrollandDie Posts: 274  |
Quite a nice treat. I'm impressed. I find the clean vocals in quality are alright but slightly overused in quanitiy. A nice melodic touch to this effort, which is good when done right! Most importantly the songs have a well-use of repetition to hook you in and then a nice fresh fragrence comes along when it finally does. Pretty solid: Nice and digestable although black metal's good friend of cold misanthropy is feeling a bit lonely.
---- Hello, my name is Mr......Snrub and I think it would be a capital idea to invest the money back in the nuclear plant.
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| Unhealer Eclecticist Posts: 2311  |
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| Merchant of Doom Posts: 702  |
Pretty good, although a bit patchy and cheesy... I bought it from bandcamp anyway!
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| Milena gloom cookie Staff Posts: 4603  |
Hm. As far as my ears can tell, this isn't really black-black metal, but I must say that it's really melodic and beautiful, and, even if it's too cheesy for a black metal release, for a "regular" one it sits just right. And my God, those vocals are beautiful. Beautiful vocals guarantee for at least a 7.9 in my book alone, even though I'm usually not so vocal centered. And this will probably go higher. Thank you for the recommendation, I love it.
---- 7.0 means the album is good
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| Troy Killjoy perfunctionist Staff Posts: 21306 |
Written by Milena on 17.01.2012 at 22:15 I don't think it's meant to be a black metal release to be honest; the instrumentation and song structures suggest the focus is more about the progressive aspect. Which is why I thought to recommend it to you. Glad you liked it.
---- "Wise men talk because they have something to say; fools because they have to say something."
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| Merchant of Doom Posts: 702 |
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| Troy Killjoy perfunctionist Staff Posts: 21306 |
Written by Merchant of Doom on 19.01.2012 at 17:38 You like it?!
---- "Wise men talk because they have something to say; fools because they have to say something."
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| Merchant of Doom Posts: 702 |
Written by Troy Killjoy on 19.01.2012 at 21:10 I do indeed.... played it about 4 times today... it just grows on you... beautiful melodies, great vocals (diverse... enjoyed the doomish ones, obviously... )... it's just a very well balanced album. I don't know... maybe I'm getting old...
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| RavenousBeast Posts: 5  |
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| Until the End Posts: 143  |
In my opinion, the 1st and 2nd tracks are 9/10 material and the other 2 are about 7/10. The clean vocals are actually what I like the best about this album which isn't what I usually say about 99.9% of records I enjoy.
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| Enoch Account deleted |
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| -DC-002- Mastercommander Posts: 1703  |
Yaaaa, the vocals are the creative bulk of this album, fuh show, and they are pretty dang interesting and expert. I don't know if I'll buy it, but way to go representing, Bandcamp. That sight has already sucked to many funds from me this last week. I fucking love that sight though, It embraces me and I embrace it.
---- Coldgrits
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| Darkside Momo Retired Elite Posts: 9089  |
Nice and beautiful, but not really mindblowing. A nice listen, and an awesome cover art
---- My Author's Blog (in French)  "You must stay drunk on writing so reality cannot destroy you" "I've lost too many years now I'm stealing back my soul I am awake"
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| CyberSymphony Ollie Posts: 673  |
The cover really caught my attention. Might give this a listen.
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| LordFezzington Lost To Apathy Posts: 398  |
Rengeteg was my favourite album last year, with the vocals being a big part of that. The vocals here certainly don't disappoint! And actually, it's a very accomplished record in its own right. Enjoying it very much!
---- "Pay no heed to anyone and do what seems right to yourself." - Franz Kafka, The Trial 2022 List: https://metalstorm.net/users/list.php?list_id=7001 2021 List: https://metalstorm.net/users/list.php?list_id=6742
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| Attila Bakos Posts: 3 |
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| Troy Killjoy perfunctionist Staff Posts: 21306 |
Written by Attila Bakos on 17.04.2012 at 13:03 Glad to hear it! Hopefully more people check this out.
---- "Wise men talk because they have something to say; fools because they have to say something."
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| AngelofDeth Cyborg Raptor Posts: 1183  |
Pretty cool stuff, But the clean vocals REALLY dont mix well with the black music/production, shame cuz he is no doubt a great singer.
---- pewpew.. gotcha
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