New adventure for Suidakra.
Created in 1994 by Arkadius Antonik (guitar/vocals/keyboards, Realms of Odoric), the band is now completed by Sebastian Jensen (vocals/guitar), Ken Jentzen (drums, Exit Smashed, ex-HumanDebris) and Hauke Oje (bass, Black Sunfire) and unveils DarkanakraD, its sixteenth album, via MDD Records.
The album kicks off with the gentle melodies of The Weight Of Worlds, but these are quickly transformed into violence, especially when they join As Heroes Abide where the band picks up the pace. Furious vocal parts also feature, making the jerky approach even more abrasive, but the band also offers calmer passages, also found on Unravelling Destinies where heady harmonics join a catchy groove. The track rages on right up to the final moments, but Seven Sentinels takes a different direction, first coupling clean vocals and soothing guitars before letting the aggression resurface to develop driving riffs while keeping its soaring touch. A Tainted Dominion explodes fairly quickly after it begins, coupling its devastating Melodic Death with calmer, folk-tinged influences, but the track passes relatively quickly and leaves us on Ashes of Truth, where guitars and backing vocals give us a moment’s respite. The Heart of Darkness takes us back into epic aggression, a colder, more impressive composition in which the various howls compete with piercing leads to create a more oppressive climate, but a few percussive beats carry us on to the energetic The Last Guardian with its playful touches. Rougher, heavier elements are still part of the landscape, but the melodies are clearly the main element of the track, softening the final to let Cruinnath’s Breath accentuate the contrast and place its cutting riffs, but also its powerful vocal parts. Back to tranquility with In Shadows Deep, four minutes of reassuring sounds where guitars and keyboards mingle until At The Gates Medley, where the band obviously pays tribute to the legendary Swedish band of the same name, offering riffs directly inspired by their furious touch to close the album.
There’s no doubt about it, Suidakra remain true to their roots in Melodic Death and Folk Metal as they continue their epic journey. DarkanakraD gives us exactly what we’ve come to expect from musicians, namely waves of rage and more heady moments in quick succession.
85/100