1. Sanctuary Denied Forever
2. Into the Vale of Dreams
3. The Nebulous Entity of Love
4. Reaching for the Stars
5. The Horizon of my Dreams
6. Volunteer... for Euthanasia
7. The Final Ascension
After listening to the Garden of Grief/NightForest split, Garden of Grief was the other band that caught my attention. I was now destined to look into the newest opus of this talented one man black metal band from Austria. Denied Sanctuary X is the fourth full length album of mastermind Boronian Sturmfels.
There is something about Sturmfels strong structure that I adore. With like most song writing, most bands tend to tease the ear at first, then unleash the fury in the middle, and then let it die out with the end. With Sturmfels song structure this is not the case, sure he teases the ear with melodics, unleashes fury as the song grows but he does not let it die out to the end, instead there is a pre ending to the ending with awesome and beautiful riff structures. So for the most part, he keeps you enthralled the whole way.
"Sanctuary Denied Forever" is a nice beautiful piano intro with some experimental soundscapes and ambiance. This won't be the last time we will hear these sounds. "Into the Vale of Dreams" follows with its steady sound and cold melodic feel throughout. It builds up pretty nicely and there is even a pretty killer solo added as well. This song is the perfect opener so you get a grip of the musicianship of Garden of Grief. Next fades in "The Nebulous Entity of Love" with its nice drum sound and atmosphere. Once again we are endured with cold melodics and synths as the song goes along. This has a very old school blackish sound to it in my opinion. A perfect dosage of black metal is what we get here. "Reaching for the Stars" is another experimental/ambient track that gives us a break from the chaos bestowed previously. Take a deep breath because there is more to come especially with the next track.
The pinnacle of this album is definitely "The Horizon of my Dreams." This is where Boronian Sturmfels brings forth his musicianship at a top notch level. "The Horizon of my Dreams" is a 20+ minute artistic piece of musical art. It variates in many ways. Throughout this epic track one will encounter top quality musicianship with mind bending cold and melancholic riffs, a hint of dark romanticism which carries on through most of the song, a nice build up which brings back the experimental side, somber yet calm clean vocals, audible bass lines, solos, and the perfect ending to a song. Words can not describe this piece of dark art. "Volunteer... for Euthanasia" brings forth the more darker, sadistic, melancholic feel of Garden of Grief. I think it's definitely a more depressive track than any track on the album. It flows at a steady slow pace at first but builds up nicely with mournful riffs, some speed, and then back. Death, suicide, and hopelessness is what you get out of this track especially at the very end when all is lost with a bang. You could consider this track the perfect song for suicide. All ends well with the instrumental guitar sounds of "The Final Ascension."
Denied Sanctuary X, how to describe this album? Pardon my language but FUCKING AMAZING! Boronian Sturmfels has done all he has can to impress the ear of the listener at a top level and has achieved that goal and more in my opinion. I'm sure this is probably some of the finest work he has done. With that said, it wonders my curiosity to his previous works and other bands. Garden of Grief is definitely one band that can make fans of the genre easily especially with this album. Thank the gods for the Garden of Grief/NightForest split. Had it not been for that, I would have never discovered this awesome band. Denied Sanctuary X is definitely recommended to all fans of DSBM. You will not be disappointed at all and surely you will be amazed with emotion.
Rating:
Myspace:Garden of Grief
Facebook:Garden of Grief
Review by Vyldr
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