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Monday, August 3, 2009
OPUS MAJESTIC - THE PAIN OF GOD / 2004 DISCOGRAPHY / BIOGRAPHY / REVIEW
THIS DEMO CONTAIN(4-TRACKS)
1-RIDING TO RUIN
2-A NEW SUN RISES
3-OF FIRE OF HOLY SMOKE
4-THE PAIN OF GOD
OPUS MAJESTIC - TEMPTATION OF THE RING/2003
THIS ALBUM CONTAIN(6-TRACKS)
1-MARCH OF THE GOBLINS
2-SILENT UNDEAD
3-MITHRANDIR
4-TEMPTATION OF THE RING
5-DIVINITY
6-DIE NOT FOREVER
OPUS MAJESTIC - AWAKEN IN THE LAND OF DREAMS/2003
THIS DEMO CONTAIN(4-TRACKS)
1-OF FIRE ANF HOLY SMOKE
2-UPON FALLING SUNBEAMS
3-LAND OF DREAMS
4-IN THE GLARE OF THE ASH TREE
CREDITS:
Strom - Vocals
Ashenvale - Guitars
BlessedDark - Bass, Keyboards
Woven Wind - Drums
(http://www.myspace.com/opusmajestic)
BIOGRAPHY:
The Big Fella upstairs must get mightily miffed from time to time. He creates a world of wonder and sets mankind upon it, gives them a few simple rules to live by and they go and cock it right up. To add insult to injury, after a day at the office He sits down to relax to a bit of Eminence TV and is greeted by band after band banging on about what a groovy guy Satan is and how Hell is the place to be. Well it seems OPUS MAJESTIC seek to redress the balance a little bit.Reading the lyric sheet, I could be wrong, but it would appear to be obvious that this band are Christians. Nothing wrong in that, Cuz I Am A Chritian sort myself but would never put down anyone who is Not, whatever their creed. The irony here is that OPUS MAJESTIC are capable of such an unholy racket. There are further clues in that, at times, the songs here take on a hymn like quality. The tracks last between 9 to 16 minutes and so the band has it all cut out to maintain interest throughout, something they succeed with for the most part.The general ambience is one of the album being recorded in a cavern (or cathedral perhaps.) The production is simple and lofi but effective nonetheless. The feel is one of a conflict between hope and despair. What would be a fairly depressing sound is uplifted by warm keyboards, the whole oft times reminding of SUMMONING. There is a pastoral mood to “The Pain Of God” which is punctuated by militaristic passages, best exemplified by The Drum work. Whilst the pace is mostly slow to mid-paced there are plenty of occasions where OPUS MAJESTIC spur on, racing for the light.Mention must be made of the guitars which are sootier than a tyre-dump fire and they possess the same radiant heat. In fact the whole album, especially “A New Sun Rises,” has a smoking hearth warmth to it, even the bass rumbles along like a summer storm. For all that don’t imagine “The Pain Of God” to be a pleasant listening affair, the vocals are delivered with an anguished growl, and when they are in top gear, the band pull you along with a finger hooked in each of your nostrils. It’s nice to see that there is a real drummer pounding away here, so many in this part of the Black Metal genre resort to electronics, beating away on real skin really does compliment the strangely uplifting ambience of the bands work. Woven Wind also knows how to be expressive without just pummelling away at his kit.So, once again, the Americans show us how to make melancholic Black Metal, however OPUS MAJESTIC add a twist. Even without referring to the subject matter, which to be honest is poetic rather than preaching, the band evoke warmth and light as opposed to the more typical cold and dark of the genre. For a religious experience without all the dogma, “The Pain Of God” is a worthy purchase(http://www.holymetalrob.com)