ARCHANGELS IN BLACK

Not up there with Underworld, but still a great album. Adagio is a very talented band, and the Neo- Classical elements are definitely the selling point of the band. Use of piano is scattered throughout the album and adds a lot to the music. While having great moments in the album, the obvious trying to be "evil" throughout the album both lyrically and musically is not too appealing to me.

The album starts off with Vamphyri, a song from that from the very start you learn that Adagio has taken a turn away from their first 2 albums. The song starts out with heavy distortion, and what's this? A scream? The great guitar solo wasn't enough to make this song quite stand out, however.

The song that follows is The Astral Pathway, which in my opinion is one of the best songs on the album. The singing in the chorus combined with the piano make a great combination, and overall is a very great song musically.

The first two songs on their own show how much the album varies. From including growls, to going back to a Neo-Classical masterpiece, sometimes in the same song. Don't let the rating fool you, this might have easily been a 5 star album as maybe a debut. However, Underworld makes this album pale in comparison.