While many consider Sweden to be the epicenter of European melodic death metal, Austria’s Darkfall has been doing it just as well, for just as long. They are about to release studio album number six, and this latest slab of savagery, “At The End Of Times” is nothing short of amazing.
Without compromising any of the brutal trademarks that have made them one of, if not THE flagship of the Austrian metal scene, Darkfall, and producer Peter Fritz have harnessed a sound that is monstrous. This is the band’s best album to date and stamps their authority on the forehead the genre with a red-hot branding iron.
From the melodic piano intro of Ride Through The Sky, all the way through to the ferocious finale of closing track Land of No Return MMXVII, the listener is pummelled from pillar to post by well-constructed songs loaded with neck snapping tempo changes, intricate riffs, blistering leads, and shredding solos.
The album has been mixed perfectly by Andy Classen, with alluring guitar tones that make the hairs on the back of your neck stand up, and the harsh growls of vocalist Thomas Spiwak blend seamlessly with the instrumental sorcery conjured by Stephan Stockreiter, Sascha Ulm, Markus Seethaler and Thomas Kern. Together, they’ve created an unrelenting atmosphere of harmonic aggression.
“At The End Of Times” is fifty-four minutes and fourteen seconds of tinnitus-inflicting, headbanging awesomeness….one of my favourite albums of 2017!
