DARKEST ERA

Northern Ireland's DARKEST ERA (formerly NEMESIS) has really got something with "The Last Caress of Light". It is an infectious something only in the most positive of terms and it is an album that begins by establishing mild intrigue in the mind and then before you know it you're hooked. Call it modern, melodic, folk-based, and pagan, and then enjoy it for what it is most: a damn good debut album.

Here is what that fuss is really all about. On "The Last Caress of Light" DARKEST ERA has taken the Celtic-folk basis of pagan metal (e.g. PRIMORDIAL),which is anchored with a minimally varying, almost hypnotic riff and then modernized it with addictive melodies and powerful clean singing. The real trick is that these eight lengthy tracks (five over six minutes, one over eight, and one at eleven) flirt with contemporary conceptions of modern metal, while staying true to the folk roots. Ultimately, you end up with an album that is epic in a heavy metal sense without seeming cliché or ostentatious.

Vocalist Dwayne "Krum" Maguire speaks the truth when he refers to this album as "a work of dark, stormy, epic heavy metal". What he doesn't mention is the vast potential for crossover appeal, owing in large part to a set of pipes on the guy that are both powerful and mellifluous. Add that to the memorable qualities of "Heathen Burial", the epic aspects of "To Face the Black Tide", or the mighty cadence of "The Morrigan", to name just a few, and you've got an album's worth of material that demands repeat visits.

First experiences with "The Last Caress of Light" may strike those listening only in passing as somewhat monotonous, but even in those cases most will find the album has that certain something that keeps sucking them back in. It is with those subsequent visits that the nuance and depth of these songs become more obvious. It might be the juxtaposing light sections, the broadness of the riff, and the noticeable increase in intensity of "Visions of the Dawn". Perhaps it is the acoustic, pure folk beauty of "Poem to the Gael" that somehow eluded you the first time. Or maybe the realization of the skill involved in focusing the listener on the ride rather than the running time of 11-minute track "The Last Caress of Light Before the Dark". Whatever the case, you'll be coming back for more.

The scary part is that "The Last Caress of Light" seems to only hint at the greatness that is yet to come from DARKEST ERA. Depending on one's point of view, claims of a particular riff's impotence or questioning a compositional decision to draw out a certain song past its welcome-wearing point would not be outrageous. Mood may dictate one's level of satisfaction with front-to-back album sessions as well. But the fact remains that with "The Last Caress of Light" DARKEST ERA have set the bar high for a debut album. The best advice is to pay attention because what you may be hearing are the beginnings of a long and fruitful career.