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Babylon Whores > Death of the West > Reviews
Babylon Whores - Death of the West

Hermes Thrice-Blessed would be proud - 92%

MacMoney, August 30th, 2004

If someone asked me to name a band that embodies Finland, I would definitely say Viikate but Babylon Whores isn't really that far from the top either. Ike Vil does sing in English and his lyrics aren't very Finnish but the music conveys a certain Finnish feeling. The music itself is death rock metalized and made heavier by a factor of thousand. Babylon Whores have thrown in some of their own flavor too so it makes the end result rather hard to describe. I've sometimes wondered why bands like Sentenced and Charon are so liked in this country but bands like Babylon Whores or The Black League go unnoticed. The styles are somewhat similar but The Whores and The Leaguesmen do their jobs much better and with way more flair than Sentenced or Charon will ever be able to. The Danzig comparisons don't really hold water anymore on this album. Babylon Whores have moved beyond the scope of Glenn's band.

Even though their songs on the previous albums have been short and to the point, on Death of the West there's a different approach. Three of the eight songs are over six minutes in length and while the rockiness is still there, songs like Death in Prague do concentrate quite much more on painting an epic atmosphere. The lengthier songs rely rather heavily on Ike Vil's vocals to carry them and as usual he does deliver. Whether it's his rougher voice or the smoother, velvety and calm voice, he manages to sound only like himself, quite unique. He doesn't do growling vocals on this one though, those are provided by Maniac of Mayhem fame. Although I am not a fan of the man, he does a decent job on this one. Two different guitar sounds are used on the album, one very powerful which fills the whole channel and dominates the soundscape and another that sounds very miniscule and weak. The latter one is mostly used when Vil is singing but it is still slightly annoying since they have that really wonderful guitar sound just waiting to be used. The leads here are rather goth tinged but there are some Kingston Wallish stuff here too that wasn't on the previous album. Also, one mustn't forget the Mana Mana-influence though I suspect not many outside of Finland know the band. One of the interesting points in the band are the lyrics. Ike's lyrics deal very much with the occult but not in the hokey-pokey sense quite a few metal lyricists do but he has really investigated it. Mr. Vil has written a couple of essays on the subject and translated at least one book concerning the occult himself. Their lyrics are some of the best in metal.

The overall sound of the band has been compared quite much with Danzig but at least on this album, they've left that style behind them. I don't hear any similarities. The Black League and Amok-era Sentenced sound a bit like this but it wouldn't be fair towards Babylon Whores to say that they play something alike with those bands. The music they've created is truly very unique. I urge everyone to check them out.

A Solid Album - 73%

Madman, March 11th, 2003

Here's Babylon Whore's follow up to the awesome "King Fear" album. What we have here is a really good album that suffers from a few pitfalls but is certainly a good album that's worth owning.

Based on the first 5 songs on the album ("Life Fades Away", "Hell Abloom", "Mother of Serpents", "Lucibel", "Dating With Witchcraft") this album is probably as good as "King Fear" but unfortunately the album hits a few snags with "Death in Prague", "A Pale Horse Against Time", and "Eveningland".

Overall the album is more melodic and laid back than "King Fear". Not that it's not heavy, it certainly is, but there aren't any fast uptempo rockers on this one, unlike "King Fear" which had "Skeleton Farm", "Errata Stigmata", "Radio Werewolf", "Hand of Glory" and "Exit Eden". The only uptempo rock song here is "Life Fades Away" and there are a couple points in other songs were it sounds like they're about to rock out but then regain their composure.

Tracks 7 and 8 are quite bland, there's no color to them. The guitars are pretty weak and Ike Vil does very little with his voice. The last song, "Eveningland", is a short, classically influenced instrumental and is slightly interesting. It sounds kinda like something that would have been on Glenn Danzig's "Black Aria" album.

Overall the album is good but if you don't have "King Fear" I suggest buying that album instead.