Sworn to the Dark

I don't understand the obsessive love so many "true" black metal fans - and metal fans in general - give to this band. I will admit, I do enjoy them, but I find that the band is highly overrated. Yes, I have heard Casus, and yes, I liked it. But I still feel that this band gets far too much attention for a trio that have stolen and recycled a certain other Swedish band's tried-and-true formula.

This is Watain's third full-length album, consisting of eleven tracks and clocking in at almost an hour. Does this album have good and varied riffs? Yes. Does it have face-shredding solos? Affirmative. Does it have twisted and inhuman vocals? Of course. Is the drumming acceptable? It exceeds the skill of most black metal drummers of today. So what exactly is wrong with this band and album? They are an almost-perfect Dissection clone, with an occasional dash of Ofermod. Of course, one might escuse something like this with the fact that some of the members were part of Dissection at some point before Jon Nodtveidt (RIP) commited suicide, but there are plenty of artists able to have side projects that don't all sound similar. While most of the album was good, I hated the norsecore drumming that reared its ugly head once in a while; As of yet, the only band to use any sort of norsecore influences right is Funeral Mist. In these songs, which are mostly mid-paced, it feels very disjointed and random, in a bad way.

As a conclusion, I'd like to say that I do not "hate" Watain. I'd buy the album and wear the shirt proudly; however, I will be the first to admit that quite frankly, they are a Dissection carbon copy, no matter how well done. Which means that between Sworn to the Dark or The Somberlain, I will invariably pick the latter.