ARCHANGELS IN BLACK

Adagio's newest album is stylistically more like Dominate than Underworld, of which band leader Stephan Forte assured a heavier resurgence. Nevertheless, as wonderful as this new direction is, it lacks the beauty and intensity found in the first two albums Sanctus Ignis and especially Underworld.

The songs are fairly good, but not always memorable. Regardless, there are some gems on this album, such as The Astral Pathway, the title track, and Codex Oscura. The songs flow fairly seamlessly into each other, with the exception of Undead. The song has a beautiful piano intro, but the guitar riff that immediately proceeds it is not transitioned into well. This album also suffers from some forgettable tunes, such as The Fifth Ankh.

All in all, Forte succeeded in creating a very dark and heavy atmosphere with a dominant guitar, yet he did not completely capture the beauty of Underworld. This album, while fun to listen to and filled with expert musicianship, fails to captivate me like other Adagio albums. There is no track on this album that can compete with the Stringless Violin from Sanctus Ignis, or Introitus from Underworld, or R'Lyeh the Dead from Dominate.

Overall, 2.7 stars.