Bibleblack - The Black Swan Epilogue

Release Date: June 15th, 2009
Label: Candlelight Records

TRACK LISTING

1.  Leaving Shangri-La
2.  Mourning Becomes Me
3.  I Am Legion
4.  The Dark Engine
5.  Bleed
6.  Stigma Diaboli
7.  Walk into Light (Liars Parade)
8.  The Black Swan Epilogue

Total playing time: 37:59

May 14, 2010

Reviewer: Kesh

A band with a cool, eye-catching aesthetic and lackluster music is a disappointment to say the least. Much like a drunken prom date, The Black Swan Epilogue looked pretty, but just didn't put out, which makes me wonder what they were trying to accomplish with the album. If there is a story, it's very thin, and any theme is confused by the lack of any story. Squarely placing the release into the “Move along, nothing to see here bin” at the store.

Their first track, “Leaving Shangri-La”, comes out of the gate pretty strong; sounding like a mix of Mercyful Fate and Cradle of Filth. The album soon starts to disappoint as each track comes and goes - and to be blatantly honest - I was expecting more from these guys. Especially since the lead guitarist is Mike Wead of Mercyful Fate/King Diamond fame. Sad, considering his playing far out-classes much of the other music on the album. After that point, while the instrumentals stay pretty consistent, the vocals go all over the board like a metalcore kid on speed, the multi-vocal-personas of vocalist Kacper Rozanski changing so much that it becomes a hindrance to the album’s flow instead of making them stand out from the crowd. This is so incredibly annoying that I found myself skipping at points just to get things over with after my first listen though.

I'm not sure if I want to say that Bibleblack is the worst death metal band ever or the best metalcore with death leanings I have ever heard. This is due to the fact that it’s not a totally horrible album, but it’s weak a lot of the time and unfocused the rest, deceiving the listener into thinking that more is on the way, but never delivers. Making the final chords of the last song (and the album's title track), “The Black Swan Epilogue,” a relief when it dwindles down and dies like the dying swan that it is. This making the fact that the disc has played through and over the best thing about it.

I’m not going to discourage any fans of Wead (or Mercyful Fate/King Diamond for that matter) from buying this album - far from it. It’s the one saving grace for the disc, and his playing alone is worth at least few listens - if you can get past the vocals. But if for any other reason, I wouldn’t waste my time on this album.

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