Sear Bliss is no newcomer at all. “Forsaken Symphony” is the 5th release of this proud Hungarian band in 6 years of activity and by far it truly represents an important step in its carreer. From a certain point of view the album stands as the perfect missing link between the band’s past and present and it successfuly closes the circle opened with “Phantoms” in 1996, bringing back a good amount of that primordial aura of blackness which bled from the debut. No doubt this is at least in part dued to the come back of the former guitarist Csaba, as anyone may see by paying attention to the songwriting features (his touch is unmistakable). Anyway, with time the band has grown up and its musical proposal has become much more mature and various. Sear Bliss makes its way through a symphonic black metal with raw guitar sounds and production, on the lead of a classic like “For All Tid” by Dimmu Borgir: good riffs and majestic keyboards partitures (much improved with respect to the previous albums), together with well-studied tempo-changes contribute to create peculiar atmospheres and good variety among the songs, while Andras’ rough and powerful growl underlines the widespread sense of suffocation and awaiting and stands as a guide through the fascinating oneiric concept meant to link each song with the next. Songs that perfectly fit the obscure and martial mood created by arioso and dreamy (somewhat feverish) melodies. Among the best episodes I would surely enlist “The Vanishing”, “The Forsaken” and “Eternal Battlefields” (probably, my favourite at all!). At times boombastic, at time aggressive, at times highly evocative, “Forsaken Symphony” really succedes in drawing an alternative dimension worthy to be explored in the deep!

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