Vermin by Old Man's Child
With a simple “impressive” British Kerrang! magazine pinpointed the vicious force to which Norway’s melodic, yet hatefully possessed Black Metallers Old Man’s Child have grown over the last couple of years. Now, with the release of its (66)6th full-length album “Vermin” the 1993 founded band is more than ready to top the praise its predecessor “In Defiance Of Existence” legitimately received.
Old Man’s Child is the brainchild of Norwegian multi-instrumentalist Galder, who originally began his arcane quest with the 1994 demo “In The Shades Of Life”, which was quickly followed up by the stunningly atmospheric yet raw sounding “Born Of The Flickering” debut album. Both of these releases came out via the Norwegian label Hot Records, for which Shagrath from Dimmu Borgir used to work and sign bands, and who also brought Old Man’s Child into the public eye. Century Media then licensed the “Born Of The Flickering” album for a worldwide release (which was reissued with new artwork and packaging), and simultaneously signed the band to a new worldwide deal. In the following years, ardent tour activity with the likes of Cradle Of Filth, Borknagar and Krisiun ensued throughout Europe and helped the band to grow a solid, dedicated fanbase. Gloomy symphonic and melodic elements united with furious aggression grew the band’s trademark on the following albums “The Pagan Prosperity” (1997) and “Ill-Natured Spiritual Invasion” (1998), the latter featuring the incredible Gene Hoglan (Strapping Young Lad, Death, Dark Angel) on drums. Meanwhile, several line-up modifications were necessary, none of which were able to slow down the progress of Old Man’s Child, showing Galder to be a continuously developing songwriter who would not let anything hinder his band’s vision or momentum.
In the year 2000 “Revelation 666 - The Curse Of Damnation” was recorded at Abyss Studios, Sweden with one of nowadays most respectable producers in extreme Metal – Hypocrisy’s Peter Tägtgren. Further exploring the bombastic elements in their sound Old Man’s Child created another majestic piece of Black Metal. Galder’s longtime friends in Dimmu Borgir noticed his talents as not only one of the premier riff-writers in the scene, but also as a top-notch rhythm guitarist, and thus they made him a steady member of these globally touring leaders of extreme metal.
The band’s fifth album “In Defiance Of Existence” (2003), who featured Nick Barker (ex-Cradle Of Filth, ex-Dimmu Borgir) on drums, managed to attract even more people to their brand of well-crafted, sinister high quality Black Metal. Power Play magazine (UK) labelled it “one of the highlights of the extreme Metal year so far”. Staying true to his traditions set forth on that album, Galder returned to Studio Fredman in Gothenburg, Sweden (recording home of In Flames, Arch Enemy and others), with Patrik J. Sten and Fredrik Nordström helping to create a new monster of an album, grimly dubbed “Vermin”. Putting an end to the two-year silence since their last album, “Vermin” showcases Galder handling the vocals, stringed instruments and keyboards himself, propelled by Danish beat-machine Reno H. Kiilerich, who was drafted by Dimmu Borgir as a live drummer after stints with Panzerchrist, Vile and Exmortem (and who also won a drum contest displaying the fastest footwork after exceeding over 800 hits on the double-bass pedals in one minute). Also guesting on the album for a lead guitar piece is Testament/Dragonlord guitarist Eric Peterson, while the artwork was created around the album’s lyrical concept by Greek designer Set<'H> (Rotting Christ, Paradise Lost, Heaven Shall Burn). Punishing catchiness, challenging instrumental performances and an intense overall atmosphere are enhanced further by Galder’s demonic vocal delivery, bringing the Old Man’s Child name to a new level of coherence and savagery. “Vermin” is yet another masterpiece by Old Man’s Child to add to your collection if you call yourself a supporter of quality black metal!
Tracklist
| 1. | Enslaved And Condemned | 4:15 |
| 2. | The Plague Of Sorrow | 4:09 |
| 3. | War Of Fidelity | 4:18 |
| 4. | In Torment's Orbit | 5:04 |
| 5. | Lord Of Command (Bringer Of Hate) | 4:51 |
| 6. | The Flames Of Deceit | 4:39 |
| 7. | Black Marvels Of Death | 4:22 |
| 8. | Twilight Damnation | 4:42 |
| 9. | As Evil Descends | 1:11 |
Credits
Line-Up:
Galder: vocals, lead guitars, bass guitar, acoustic guitars and keyboards
Reno H. Kiilerich: session drums
License
All rights reserved.
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