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Siebenbürgen > Delictum > Reviews > PrincipleOfEVIL
Siebenbürgen - Delictum

A Milestone Of Vampiric Metal - 100%

PrincipleOfEVIL, June 11th, 2009

I discovered Siebenbürgen by hazard, as it is the case with most good things. Siebenbürgen is one of those bands whose name evokes their music perfectly. What would you think when you hear such a name? Vampires! That's right! Siebenbürgen is one of the best vampiric metal bands, paying bloody hommages with every album.

Of all their albums, this one is the most appealling and catchy, the one where vampiric qualities bloom the most prominently. What separates this band from other masters of the vampiric metal genre (namely Cradle of Filth and Theatres Des Vampires) are the following qualities - classical heavy metal riffs, dominating and beautiful dual guitars, sweeping melodies with many soli and harmonies, powerful, but not black metal drumming-which means scant, almost non-existent blast beats, little to no keys and symphonic arrangements - nobbut straightforward rocking pure melodic black metal... And Siebenbürgens trademark vocals. Marcus Ehlin has a recognizable and unique voice. He sounds truly grim and evil, like a vampire should; his vocals being a snarl, or a rasp, lower, but not as a death metal growl, and he never screams like Dani Filth. This ''lack'' of range is compensated by the heartfelt delivery. Female vocals are done by Kicki Höijertz, whose voice is a light, ethereal and frail soprano, never sounding weak, but always expressive. Often both vocalists trade vocal duties, in the ''Beauty and the Beast'' fashion. Worth mentioning are the beautiful and poetic lyrics, written in shakespearian english, concentrated around dark romanticism, without satanic references, which would ruin the atmosphere the music creates. All songs create an unique poetic, darkly romantic atmosphere, bringing sensual and lustful images to mind, laced with grim and menacing undertones. Songs are all lenghty (the shortest is 5 min long) and have complex structures, never falling into verse-chorus structures, which removes any possibility of boredom; the album is 70 min long, but once it ends, it will seem it was too short. Repeated listens will reveal some unnoticed layer, and this album will never cease to please and amaze. Also, the production here is not too clear, and not sounding synthetic, which enhances further the vampiric vibe. It is a cavernous and resonant, similar to the production on ''Dusk... And Her Embrace''.

This album is a mandatory listen to every vampiric metal lover, as it defines the genre. It has no filler and every song is good and different from each other. My personal favourite is''Thy Sister Thee Crimson Wed''. a lesbian vampiric story. It is true that this band is full of cliches, but, the whole vampiric metal genre is a cliched one. Know that Siebenbürgen are the masters of the genre and this album is on par with COF vampiric era, a true epitome of vampiric metal.