Satanic Dirge - Tribulation
Self-released - May 28, 2007
By Jordan Knoll
Take a quick gander at that cover art. Now, ask yourself, is a kitten black metal? If you answer yes than you may enjoy what American one-man band
Satanic Dirge has going on. If you answered a resounding 'no', than you might as well move on ‘cause
Tribulation, much like its cover art, is fairly unconventional black metal.
Sounding like a more amateurish mix (complete with a pathetic sounding drum machine) between
Opeth and
Mirrorthrone,
Satanic Dirge treads largely familiar ground. Most compositions are based on mid-paced tempos with odd forays into weird staccato riffing that occasionally break into full-on tremolo riff barrages. Backing this mostly mid-pace black metal ‘lite’ sound are gratuitous keyboards that often meander more than they add anything worthwhile to the music. That is not to say everything on display here by Wight is inherently bad, the guitar tone sounds surprisingly thick for a basement production and the keyboards avoid that cheap-sounding pitfall by a considerable margin. The album even has some highly promising moments (i.e. the arpeggio run in the middle of
'Brainworkz'), unfortunately though these are so few and far between that you’ll be wondering if Wight spent enough time refining his compositions.
Of course, as it says in the band’s bio, Wight is still only a high school student, producing this project entirely in his bedroom so some slack must be given to the immature nature of
Satanic Dirge. Perhaps with time, lots of effort and an ear for refinement Wight could create something more unique and powerful in the future. Until then though,
Tribulation cannot be recommended to any but those who think an
Opeth and
Mirrorthrone synthesis is appealing.
Official Satanic Dirge Website
Official Satanic Dirge Myspace
