1 New Dark Age 2:04 2 The Sleeping Tyrant Words By Words, Music By Music –. 8:40 3 Cimmerian Codex Words By Words, Music By Music –. 9:09 4 Alchemiculte 2:58 5 Hammer Of Damnation Words By Words, Music By Music –. 8:17 6 The Anguine Rose 1:35 7 Blackthorne Music By Music –.,.
Words By Words –. 5:21 8 The Keep Music By Music –. Words By Words –. 1:58 9 Cromlech Words By Words, Music By Music –.
10:27 10 New Dark Age II Words By Words, Music By Music –. 12:50 11 Legion XIII Music By Music –. 2:33 12 The Prophecy 5:32 13 Stormchild 5:15.
Beyond these mountains lay vistas of dread Black sea of infinity herin they drift Devolved as one atrophied architects Cyclopean forms askew in the midst (Of) seraphic decay, an unbeheld might The arcane majesty a conqueror awaits Captors of millennia cloaked in confusion Cast ever out to the tides of time Gathered in silent peripheral empires (Of) dust choked oceans who sing their last Vanquished voyagers of revelation A brooding enigma yet still to pass Sinistral gulfs yet may be crossed To ophidian cowering citadels Raptoral judgement upon all our sins This placid island of ignorance. Get the embed code Solstice - New Dark Age Album Lyrics1.Cimmerian Codex2.Cromlech3.Hammer of Damnation4.New Dark Age / The Sleeping Tyrant5.New Dark Age II6.The Keep7.The ProphecySolstice Lyrics provided by SongLyrics.com Note: When you embed the widget in your site, it will match your site's styles (CSS). This is just a preview!
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January 18, 2018 Article and photos by Joe Sapia This photograph is of my home thermometer in Monroe, Middlesex County, showing approximately minus 5 or minus 6 degrees at about 7:35 a.m. January 7, Sunday. SUB-FREEZING DAYS: Our sub-freezing temperatures ran from about December 25, Monday, Christmas Day, to January 8, Monday, or about 15 days.
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On the morning of January 7, Sunday, we really got some low temepratures. The Hopewell area of Mercer County reported 13 degrees below zero! Wrapping up Jersey Midland lows of the January 7 morning, based on my home reading and Rutgers University: Burlington County: Minus 3 degrees at Red Lion and Oswego Lake. Hunterdon: Minus 4 degrees at Pittstown. Mercer County: Minus 13 degrees at Hopewell.
Middlesex County: Minus 5 or 6 degrees at Monroe-Helmetta-Jamesburg. (Another report from the Monroe-Spotswood-Old Bridge area shows Minus 7 degrees.) Monmouth County: Minus 9 degrees at Howell. Ocean County: Minus 7 degrees at Berkeley Township and West Creek.
Ice-fishing on Helmetta Pond in Middlesex County. Farrington Lake, iced over, on the boundary of South Brunswick, East Brunswick, and North Brunswick in Middlesex County. VOICES FROM AFIELD, RIK VAN HEMMEN: Hendrik “Rik” F. Van Hemmen – maritime naturalist, sailor, marine engineer, and author of “A Chronology of Boating on the Navesink River” – checked in from Fair Haven, Monmouth County.
“Why do people bitch when it is cold for a few days?” Rik said. “It is really a gift and allows us to see our environment from a different perspective.” Rik sent in photos from a frozen Sandy Hook, which he and his wife, Anne, visited. Earth 2160 activation keygen photoshop.
“Sandy Hook Bay is solid ice,” said Rik van Hemmen, a maritime naturalist, sailor, marine engineer, and author who lives in Fair Haven, Monmouth County. (Photograph copyright 2018 by Hendrik “Rik” F. Van Hemmen) IN MEMORY OF RUSTY RICHARDS: The Pine Barrens around Helmetta in Middlesex County lost a wonderful historian-outdoorsman and I lost a dear mentor-friend, Ralph “Rusty” Richards of Helmetta, on Friday, January 12. Rusty was 85. Rusty was a volunteer (Helmetta Fire Department, Knights of Columbus, Holy Trinity Church), but I remember him as a storytelling friend who made me laugh. Over the last year or two, Rusty, Eddie Sciegel and I, along with Jimmy Krygier more recently, would get together every several weeks for a Saturday breakfast.
We are all from Helmetta-area 100-year families. But Rusty’s legacy to me was he, as a local outdoorsman, taught me about the world afield – unlike some outdoors people who selfishly guard their knowledge. Rusty and I were supposed to Jeep-tour the main Pine Barrens around now. But it never came to be, Rusty being diagnosed with late-stage cancer. Perhaps Rusty and I will get to see each other on the trail. Because, for me, Rusty simply hiked ahead and someday – But not too soon, Rusty! – I hope to see him up yonder.
Rusty’s obituary said it nicely, “He was an avid woodsman with an extensive knowledge of the local pine barrens.” The obit, Rusty Richards, in 2011, picking “opienki” mushrooms in the Pine Barrens around Helmetta, Middlesex County. Rusty died January 12, Friday, at home in Helmetta. This photograph is from the day Rusty taught me about “opienki,” or honey mushrooms, genus “Armillaria.” Around Helmetta, they also are called “stumpies.” “Pien” in Polish means “stump.” SNOWFALL: There was no new snowfall.
So, at my house in the section of Monroe between Jamesburg and Helmetta, Middlesex County, the seasonal count, so far, is 16.0 inches in five events. The seasonal average for this area would be about 25.8 inches, based on the average in New Brunswick, which is about 7.5 miles from my house. Sunset over snow at Thompson Park in Monroe, Middlesex County. A snowy scene along the Millstone River in West Windsor, Mercer County. SNOWFENCING AND DRIFTING: Some may wonder about the purpose of picket-fencing along fields.
Well, it is snow-fencing, put in place to prevent drifting snow on roadways. Drifting snow where there is no snowfence in place on farmland on the Cranbury-Monroe boundary, Middlesex County. Snow accumulates at a snowfence, keeping the road (out of the photograph in the foreground) clear. This site is on farmland in Plainsboro, Middlesex County. BALD EAGLE REPORT: The state 2017 bald eagle report is available at It shows 206 pairs of eagles, with 190 babies produced. The significance is the bald eagle, “Haliaeetus leucocephalus,” is “endangered,” or in immediate peril, as a breeder and, even in general, is considered “threatened,” meaning if current conditions continue, it could become endangered. Thanks to the ban of DDT pesticide and conservation methods, there has been this jump in nests from only one known nest from 1970 to the early 1980s.
A breakdown in the Jersey Midlands shows about 45 pairs of eagles, with some pairs near or on county lines: Burlington County: 12 pairs. Hunterdon County: 6 pairs. Mercer County: 4 pairs. Middlesex County: 5 pairs. Monmouth County: 8 pairs.
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Ocean County: 6 pairs. Somerset County: 5 pairs. (See the report for more specific locations.
Keep in mind, human intervention can seriously disrupt eagles, so, generally, no location is listed too specifically.) MY CHRISTMAS CARD: Did anyone use my home-made Christmas card to locate stars in the night sky? I got some interesting reaction to the card. Are you into astrology? Do you follow unidentified flying object reports? Not on a regular basis, although I read stories if I stumble upon them. And Cousin Rosemarie Sapia Audino said, “I didn’t know you were a stargazer.” Yes, I am. (Rose, thanks for your normal comment!) TRACTOR SUPPLY: There is a new Tractor Supply store in my town, Monroe, Middlesex County.
The other day, I stopped because it was more convenient than my regular sources for bird seed. One of the things I like about Tractor Supply is it has reading material I normally do not see in other outlets – such as Northern Woodlands and The Backwoodsman magazines, both of which I bought. A few magazines I picked up at the new Tractor Supply store in Monroe, Middlesex County. INVASIVE BAMBOO: Man, do I hate bamboo.
It is not only non-native, it is highly invasive and tough to eradicate. This time of year, it is easy to spot – everygreen, leafy, and tall. So, I am seeing it frequently.
Bamboo in Cranbury, Middlesex County. Bamboo on the Millstone River on the boundary of East Windsor, Mercer County, and Cranbury, Middlesex County. What appears to be a red-tailed hawk, “Buteo jamaicensis,” perched above the Millstone River and its floodplain, near the bamboo. Bamboo in Princeton, Mercer County. SKY VIEWS: This week’s sky photographs are from Plainsboro, Middlesex County, and Whitesbog in the Pine Barrens of Burlington County.
The sun “drawing water” over cranberry bogs at Whitesbog in the Pine Barrens of Burlington County. This, simply, is sun rays peaking through clouds. More from Whitesbog. The sky over farmland at Plainsboro, Middlesex County.
FOOD AND FLOWER GARDENS: I have been thinking about my food and flower garden and half-heartedly thinking about what to plant and ordering seeds. Now, I have to really get focused on this – first, planning the garden and, then, buying seeds. A plot of field corn in winter in Cranbury, Middlesex County.
ATLANTIC OCEAN TEMPERATURES: The Atlantic Ocean temperature in New Jersey on the Saturday-Sunday, January 13-14, weekend ranged from about 31 to 37 degrees. WEATHER: The National Weather Service forecasting office serving the Jersey Midlands is at SUNRISE/SUNSET: For Sunday, January 14, to Saturday, January 20, the sun will rise about 7:15 to 7:20 a.m. And set about 4:55 to 5 p.m. For Sunday, January 21, to Saturday, January 27, the sun will rise about 7:10 to 7:15 a.m. And set about 5:05 to 5:10 p.m. PENNSYLVANIA FARM SHOW: It is over for this year, but next January, if you have the opportunity, consider going to the Pennsylvania Farm Show in Harrisburg, It is a show of real-deal farming, not the agri-tourism, hobby farming, and play farming taking over the Midlands.
Check out the show’s famous butter sculpture. This year’s butter sculpture at the Pennsylvania Farm Show. It took 1,000 pounds of butter and 14 days for Marie Pelton and Jim Victor of Conshohocken, Pennsylvania, to sculpt this exhibit. A cow giving birth. Here comes a hoof.
Garden and Afield in the Jersey Midlands: What we are about Sky, woods, field, and water in the Pine Barrens at Whitesbog, Burlington County. Joe Sapia, 61, is a lifelong resident of Monroe — in South Middlesex County, where his maternal family settled more than 100 years ago. He is a Pine Barrens naturalist and an organic gardener of vegetables and fruit, along with zinnias and roses. He draws inspiration on the Pine Barrens around Helmetta from his mother, Sophie Onda Sapia, who lived her whole life in these Pines, and his Polish-immigrant grandmother, Annie Poznanski Onda. He gardens the same backyard plot as did his Grandma Annie and Italian-American father, Joe Sr. Both are inspirations for his food gardening. Ma inspires his rose gardening. Joe is a semi-retired print journalist of almost 40 years. His work also is at @JosephSapia on Twitter.com, along with Facebook.com on the Jersey Midlands page.
Copyright 2017 by Joseph Sapia January 10, 2018 Article by Quentin Zorn My name is Quentin, and I am a junior at Rutgers studying environmental policy. Over the course of this semester, I have been interning with the Lower Raritan Watershed Partnership and have had the opportunity to work on a wide variety of projects relating to water quality issues. I participated in many stream cleanups, attended many exciting events such as the Raritan River Festival, got to contribute to several long-term art projects and learned a lot along the way. This experience has not only taught me a lot about watershed management, but also has broadened my way of thinking and strengthened my passion for combating environmental issues. One of the more exciting projects I was able to participate in was teaching kids from the Plainfield Youth Center about water quality and watershed management, and to work on an art project with them.
This was part of the Lower Raritan Watershed Partnership’s Project WADES Environmental Education curriculum. We started off by taking the kids to a nearby stream and training them in visual habitat assessments and how to notice what kinds of things can impair stream quality, such as nearby roads, maintained lawns and lack of riparian cover. We got to help build a foundation with these kids at a young age, which will help them understand and care about water quality issues as they grow up. The art project we worked on with the kids was a lot of fun and interactive. Each kid selected a piece of trash found at a cleanup in the Lower Raritan Watershed, and then held that piece of trash in a container, which we would then fill with an algae-based mold called alginate. The finished products were a bunch of unique sculptures of hands holding the trash. When I was working on my own on this internship, I got to explore and contribute to several different datasets.
I worked on a master database of every municipality in the Lower Raritan Watershed that contained a wide variety of information on each town’s environmental and development plans. I also worked with data from the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection on different industries that have permits to pollute into the Raritan River, and I helped make this data more coherent and complete. This helped me understand what kind of information is important when considering water quality, and also my contributions helped make more complete and meaningful logs of data. It was really satisfying to see all this information come together and fulfilling to know that the public can access this data and learn what is going on in their watershed.
There were many cleanups of streams in the watershed throughout the duration of my internship, and I participated in as many as I could. The cleanups were far more rewarding than I anticipated them being.
Arriving at any given cleanup gave me a feeling of hopelessness when I would see how much trash there was. I would think, “we can make this a little better, but it’s still going to be in a bad condition.” Every single cleanup I was surprised by how good of a job everyone did, and how great the area looked when we left. Seeing all of the trash piled up in the end was always shocking but felt good to have gotten it all out of the ecosystem. January 9, 2018 Article and photos by Joe Sapia (except where noted) The Delaware River, iced-over Tuesday, January 2, at Washington Crossing — looking from Mercer County, New Jersey, to Bucks County, Pennsylvania, just upstream of the bridge. SUB-FREEZING DAYS: After days of sub-freezing cold, how cold was it? Cold enough for a waterway – in this case, the mighty Delaware River — to freeze over. The frozen-over Delaware River Tuesday, January 2, at Washington Crossing, looking from Pennsylvania to New Jersey.
A woman maneuvers Main Street in Cranbury during the Thursday, January 4, snowfall. SNOWFALL, JANUARY 4: This storm produced a wind-whipped, powdery snow.
Snowfall totals reported by National Weather Service: Burlington County: 3.4 inches at Cinnaminson to 7.5 inches in the Southampton area. Hunterdon County: 1.9 inches at Readington to 5.8 inches in the Hampton area. Mercer County: 4.0 inches in the Washington Crossing area to 6.6 inches in the Lawrence area. Middlesex County: 4.5 inches in the South Brunswick area to 9.6 inches at Cheesequake. Monmouth County: 9.0 inches at Keyport to 18.0 inches in the West Long Branch area.
Ocean County: 12.5 inches in the Brick area to 18.3 inches in the Berkeley area. Somerset County: 3.0 inches in the Montgomery area to 5.8 inches in the Franklin area. (These totals are for these specific stations and may not be complete highs and lows for the counties.) A snowplow pushes snow on Stockton Avenue in Jamesburg, Middlesex County, in the Thursday, January 4, snowfall. SNOWFALL FOR THE SEASON: With the January 4 snowfall, my house in Monroe, Middlesex County, has had 16 inches of snow, so far this season. The seasonal average at New Brunswick, Middlesex County, or about 7.5 miles from my house, is 25.8 inches.
The January 4 snowfall produced 7 inches at my house. A wind-whipped, snowy field in Monroe, Middlesex County. WALKING THE SNOWY WOODS: During the Thursday, January 4, storm, I set out from my house about 4:30 p.m., hitting the woods across the street, not wanting to pass up the pristine snowy woods. It was a brief walk, only about 45 minutes from shortly before sunset to shortly after. But I was glad I got to spend a few minutes shooting pictures of nature’s beauty and relaxing in the woods, before shoveling snow. (Weather conditions: Overcast, estimated temperature of 27 degrees, dew point of 5.5 to 6, wind sounding like a freight train.) I got thinking about this short time in the woods.
Normally, I do not consider it a hike unless I do at least 3 miles. Perhaps I should re-focus and think about the mental part of the woods and try to get out there daily, even if for only a short time. The Old Swimming Hole on Manalapan Brook in Monroe, Middlesex County. A snow-covered treefall on Manalapan Brook in Monroe, Middlesex County. SNOW AND THE LAY OF THE LAND: Take advantage of any snow cover. Where there is no snow cover, the woods presents itself as a homogenous picture of earth tones or green leaves – or both. But add a snow-cover; or, better, snow-cover and snow clinging to vegetation; or better yet, snow-cover, snow clinging to vegetation, and foliage and the depth and roll of the land stand out.
The snow-dusted Pine Barrens around Helmetta, Middlesex County – here, specifically, an East Brunswick section of the Jamesburg Park Conservation Area. With the snow contrasting against the earth tones of the woods, it is easy to see the roll of the land. A firecut, plowed by the state Forest Fire Service before a controlled burn here in the Jamesburg Park Conservation Area, is easly seen, along with the rest of the lay of the land, thanks to snow contrasting with the woods’s earth tones. VOICES FROM AFIELD, EAGLE: Patty Byrnes Lang of Monroe, Middlesex County, checked in with photographs of a bald eagle, “Haliaeetus leucocephalus,” she saw on the boundaries of Monroe, Cranbury/Middlesex County, and East Windsor/Mercer County. In New Jersey, bald eagles are “endangered,” or in immediate jeopardy, as breeders and “threatened,” meaning if conditions persist they could become endangered,” in general. Patty described one encounter, “I caught a glimpse of him in one of the trees on the left. We got to watch as he flew off the branch he was on, circled the field, and landed on another tree.” Based on its coloring, this is an adult.
It could be one of the adults that had a nest last year nearby, along the Millstone River in Monroe. This is the time of year eagles begin working on nests. A bald eagle on the boundary of Middlesex and Mercer counties, along the border of Monroe/Middlesex, Cranbury/Middlesex, and East Windsor/Mercer. (Photo copyright 2017 by Patty Byrnes Lang) VOICES FROM AFIELD, BLUEBIRD: Bob Kane of Cranbury, Middlesex County, checked in with a photograph of an eastern bluebird, “Sialia sialis,” taken in his town.
This one is easily identifiable as a male, because of the bright coloring. A male eastern bluebird at Cranbury, Middlesex County. (Photo copyright 2018 by Bob Kane) RANCOCAS CREEK: The Rancocas Creek watershed is 360 square miles. It is the only major waterway that flows into the Delaware River from the Pine Barrens. And, despite being freshwater, has a tidal effect; The Delaware River has a tidal effect on its freshwater as far north as Trenton. Low tide on Rancocas Creek, looking upstream on the boundary of Mount Laurel, Willingboro, and Westampton, all in Burlington County.
Although this is freshwater, there is a tidal effect on the Delaware River and its tributaries as far north as Trenton. Rancocas Creek, looking downstream at the boundary of Mount Laurel, Willingboro, and Westampton, all Burlington County. GARDEN WRITING COURSE: This spring, I will be teaching non-fiction writing again at the Princeton Adult School.
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This time, it will be “Garden Writing,” five sessions on Thursdays, 7 p.m. To 9 p.m., from March 22 to April 26. The class description: “Look at your garden and yard in a different way – through your words. Record your memories in the garden and yard through the essay and vignette. This writing-intensive course has weekly take-home assignments, with the instructor returning critiqued papers. Students will learn writing components, outlining, grammar, style, interviewing, and the importance of resources such as dictionaries and stylebooks – with all assignments focusing on our vegetables, flowers, yards – or afield, if you wish. In-class discussion will cover good examples turned in by students, common problems, and concerns.
Feel free to use the class to write a chapter a week of a dream project, work on getting published, keep a journal, or just have fun.” The class costs $99. Enrollment at ATLANTIC OCEAN TEMPERATURES: The Atlantic Ocean temperature at in New Jersey on the January 6-7 weekend ranged from about 29 to 30 degrees. WEATHER: The National Weather Service forecasting office serving the Jersey Midlands is at SUNRISE/SUNSET: For Sunday, January 7, to Saturday, January 13, the sun will rise about 7:20 a.m. And set about 4:45 to 4:50 p.m. For Sunday, January 14, to Saturday, January 20, the sun will rise about 7:15 to 7:20 a.m. And set about 4:55 to 5 p.m.
PENNSYLVANIA FARM SHOW: The Pennsylvania Farm Show continues through Saturday, January 13. It is a real-deal show of farming life, not faux farming. So, it has animals, tractors, food preparation, food to buy, gardening displays, and exhibitions. Visitors can get up close to it all. And check out the butter sculpture! (Unfortunately, I will miss the show this year. I had plans to go Wednesday with friends Jimmy and Kathy Krygier of Krygier’s Nursery in South Brunswick, Middlesex County, but work called.
I am disappointed, because I look forward to this show.) More information at COVERING THE WEATHER: During my 31 years as a reporter at the Asbury Park Press, I never saw fellow Metro reporters whine so much about covering something than about weather stories. Me, just the opposite. I loooooooved weather stories. Was out most of Thursday, January 4, chasing the snow.
Joey on the job, here Tuesday, January 2, photographing the iced-over Delaware River at Washington Crossing, Mercer County. (Photo copyright 2018 by Pamela B. Roes) Joe Sapia, 61, is a lifelong resident of Monroe — in South Middlesex County, where his maternal family settled more than 100 years ago. He is a Pine Barrens naturalist and an organic gardener of vegetables and fruit, along with zinnias and roses. He draws inspiration on the Pine Barrens around Helmetta from his mother, Sophie Onda Sapia, who lived her whole life in these Pines, and his Polish-immigrant grandmother, Annie Poznanski Onda. He gardens the same backyard plot as did his Grandma Annie and Italian-American father, Joe Sr. Both are inspirations for his food gardening. Ma inspires his rose gardening. Joe is a semi-retired print journalist of almost 40 years. His work also is at @JosephSapia on Twitter.com, along with Facebook.com on the Jersey Midlands page.
Solstice New Dark Age
Copyright 2017 by Joseph Sapia January 9, 2018 LRWP “Voices of the Watershed” contributor Joe Sapia will be teaching non-fiction writing during the spring 2018 semester at the Princeton Adult School. This semester the theme is “Garden Writing” – writing essays or vignettes about garden, yard, greenhouse, or afield. A description of the course is below: Look at your garden and yard in a different way – through your words. Record your memories in the garden and yard through the essay or vignette.
A New Dark Age Is Dawning
This writing-intensive course has weekly take-home assignments, with the instructor returning critiqued papers. Students will learn writing components, outlining, grammar, style, interviewing, and the importance of resources such as dictionaries and stylebooks – with all assignments focusing on our vegetables, flowers, yards – or afield, if you wish. In-class discussion will cover good examples turned in by students, common problems, and concerns. Feel free to use the class to write a chapter a week of a dream project, work on getting published, keep a journal, or just have fun.
Garden Writing at the Princeton Adult School, Instructor: Joseph Sapia. Joe Sapia has been a professional non-fiction writer for almost 40 years. He is a retired reporter from the Asbury Park Press.
He, now, freelances, including writing a weekly blog, “Garden and Afield in the Jersey Midlands,” along with being an instructor at the Rutgers University Plangere Writing Center. He is an organic vegetable gardener and zinnia grower, using the same 60-year-plus plot used by his Italian-American father and Polish-immigrant grandmother. Joe is a member of the Rutgers Master Gardeners program/Middlesex County. Joe can answer questions at [email protected].
January 8, 2018. The workshop was timed to coincide with the 5th anniversary of Superstorm Sandy. We saw this anniversary as an opportune moment to reflect on successes in implementing GI thus far, as well as to frame challenges, solutions and opportunities for future GI interventions. Of course this work is just beginning. The LRWP, NOAA and Rutgers Marine Sciences are discussing how to continue the conversation in 2018. For now, please see conference handouts, presentations, and additional resources below. NOAA’s Natural Infrastructure Topic Page also has links to many of their Natural Infrastructure resources: January 5, 2018 Article and photos by Joe Sapia Soft morning sunlight contrasts with threatening skies at the high ground of Thompson Park in Monroe, Middlesex County. A popular winter activity for generations at Thompson Park is sledding from the high ground toward the low ground around “Jamesburg Lake” (properly Lake Manalapan).
The 30-acre lake is formed by the damming of Manalapan Brook at Jamesburg. Remember, there are few, if any, natural bodies of water on the Coastal Plain. Sledding at Thompson Park in Monroe, Middlesex County, via my 2001 folk art Christmas card. SNOWFALL: The Saturday, December 30, snowfall of 1.0 inch at my house in the part of Monroe between Helmetta and Jamesburg, Middlesex County, brought the season’s total to 9.0 inches. The seasonal average for New Brunswick, Middlesex County, about 7 miles away, is 25.8 inches.
One gets the distinct impression that, with their second full-length album, 1998's, English doomsters were aiming to redefine the genre. Perhaps hoping to fill the not-inconsiderable-void left by the then recently disintegrated, the group seemed committed to providing that definitive 'next step' in doom's logical evolutionary process. And, mind you, most of the ingredients required to fulfill this lofty goal are in place: extended song-lengths, mournful guitar riffs (predominantly slothful but also rather snappy when needed), dour lyrics steeped in obscure, pagan lore, and even the odd, mood-setting sound effect to help establish a sense of all-encompassing conceptual linkage.
But although evident in the album's best moments (including the imposing 'The Sleeping Tyrant,' the sweetly chiming instrumental 'Alchemiculte,' and the wonderfully morbid 'Cromlech'), these trademark elements ultimately fall a little short of their self-imposed task due to a few minor but crucial weak links. First, a truly genre-altering new view to doom songwriting is absent, but, perhaps even more to blame is the often ineffectual performance of new singer. Having replaced founding member just a short time before was recorded, his less-than-commanding delivery (in an untutored, New Wave of British Heavy Metal style) tends to vary anywhere from suitable to distressingly flat. The irritating part is that, with just a little bit of guidance from a helpful producer (multi-tracking or echo effects, anyone?), 's deficiencies could have probably been circumvented with ease.
Instead, he is cruelly thrust into the spotlight not once but twice: first when backed only by a sparse acoustic guitar on the medieval madrigal 'Blackthorne'; and then when he is quite literally hung out to dry amidst the howling winds of 'The Keep.' Once again, however, his is only the most obvious of various questionable issues, and thanks to a 15-minute afterthought named 'New Dark Age II (Legion XIII)' (which could almost stand as a separate, summarized version of the album), it's not too difficult to ignore 's shortcomings and enjoy this album's many strengths.
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