In Battle Kingdom of Fear
Nocturnal Art/Candlelight Records CDL300 September 18, 2007
By Wayward_Son
Sometimes, Faithful Reader, while listening to new metal music, you have just got to wonder: What the hell is the point of this? Listen to any two current (relatively unknown) death/black metal hordes, and then listen to
In Battles latest offering,
Kingdom of Fear. Then have your compact disc player (assuming you are not one of those metal fans who keeps everything on your computer) randomly play these same three albums. This writer is willing to wager you will not be able to distinguish between the bands. That is how by-the-numbers
Kingdom of Fear happens to be.
Seriously though, if you are listening to
In Battle, the smart bet says you are not listening to them for their originality and distinction. That being said, the band can certainly play their instruments well. The music is well constructed and fairly technical death/black metal. For the most part, the music from
In Battle is fast-paced with few slower segments thrown in. For the most part, you are looking at blast beats, screamed vocals, and heavy riffs. Sounds like a recipe for literally thousands of run-of-the-mill bands, does it not?
The surprising moment came when reading the bio sheet and doing further research on
In Battle. Turns out they used to be a Viking black metal band in the mid-to-late 1990s. This writer is not sure why the band decided to spring full ahead into death metal territory, seeing how they will be lost in a sea of clones.
Honestly, Faithful Reader, there is not much to tell here. You have heard this done before countless times. You have also heard it done better. However, if you simply cannot get enough of that technical death/black metal sound,
Kingdom of Fear may just turn out to please someone. It will not be this writer.
Official In Battle Website
Official Candlelight Records Website
