Argentum "Stigma Mortuorum" CD
[Sempiternal]
This Mexican act plays atmospheric metal with a death metal sort of undercurrent in some ways (in large part due to the heaviness of the guitars and the midrange vocal snarls). The orchestral synth tones are a lot smoother and more prominent than the guitars, which definitely bothers me, because a lot of times the synths just mirror the melodies of the guitar parts and are unnecessary, but even when they do add to the overall harmonies, they shouldn't be so dominant at all. This is pretty interesting though, because the band definitely has their own overall style within this niche. It's nothing gothic, nor is it doom, though those influences are present in one form or another throughout aspects of the CD, it's one of those records that can't be easily categorized. Most of the riffing is moderately paced, but there are some faster elements (check out the wild tapping run in "Descensus Nigrum Part II - Nocternarum"). In a way the songs are a little bit long, averaging about six minutes each (with some as long as seven or nine), but they do keep things moving with ample changes that don't disrupt the atmosphere of the individual tracks. I must say though, if every song was as powerful as "Momento Vivorum - Interdeterioration - Cupio Dissolvi" I could easily overlook most of the faults that I can cite here, as the writing and harmonies are just so well executed. I don't mind the recording at all. As always there's room for improvement, but the mix is about where it should be (aside from those keyboards getting too loud at times), and everything is pretty thick. There are a couple of cases where there are some tuning issues during guitar harmonies, but other than that it sounds cool by me. I think the visual presentation is pretty nice with this one. Everything is clean and tightly arranged, the band photos are tastefully handled, and so on. Lyrically most of the songs are on the whole "darkness" sort of thing, but they're alright considering the language barrier and such. "When the cruelty of depriving condense thy world, a view from decaying sun as your direful destiny, It is a time to join us to our mightiest empire, Always built in a blasted ruins with mournful greatness..." As far as this genre goes, I'm hard to impress, so I'm not blown away here, but this is a good effort that holds my attention. Fans of this style should look out for this one. (6/10)
Running time - 40:02, Tracks: 7
[Notable tracks: Descensus Nigrum Part II - Nocternarum, Momento Vivorum - Interdeterioration - Cupio Dissolvi]
Sempiternal Productions - http://www.sempiternalproductions.com

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