Opus Draconis
Satanic Truth About False Union
3.5
There’s only one genre I am truly picky about within the realms of extreme metal, and that is "black" metal. I’m never likely to blow my wad over primal, true black metal. The overdone, vapid Dimmu Borgir-isms that plague the scene don’t get me to excited either, though I do enjoy some majestic symphonics over gritty kultism. The last black metal album that truly deserved my attention was Anorexia Nervosa’s Redemption Process as it perfectly captured the evil and the majesty of black metal.
So along come Portugal’s Opus Draconis, spikes an’ all who can’t decide what style of black metal they are. From the ultra clichéd intro of “Purity Of Evil”, on to the rawer “The Darkest Day In The Black Forest” then on to the melodic gallop of “Disciples Of Affliction”, Opus Draconis are a sort of black metal menagerie of indecision. Generally speaking, they sound like early, under produced Dimmu Borgir, without the overuse of synths and songwriting. Newer comparisons include Destinity, Merrimack and Misteltein, but without the well produced grandeur.
The lo fi delivery of the attempted majestics, falls flat due to the production, so the end result sounds like an initially primal black metal band that decided to tack on the keyboards as an afterthought and piecemeal interludes (“Christianity Ablaze”, “Sanctuary -Sacrilegium Dominii I”, “Elfens -Sacrilegium Dominii II”, “Devil's March (The Age Of Man Is Over” “Apokaliptcal Feelings”). But even as pure form of black metal as heard on “Eyes Flickering Bleeding”, “Satanic Truth About False Union” and “The Throne Of Absence” remain unconvincing and totally third tier.
The lone moment they manage to get their array of styles in place hint at some baseline skills necessary to astonish easily impressed fans is a slower, more controlled take on black metal (“Pure Depressive Funeral Emotion”) that doesn’t sound quite as littered with clichés. The presence of some frequent death vocals amid the tortured screaming, serve to emphasize Opus Draconis’s ability to be completely guided by the fad of the moment rather than choose their own path.
The production is a duality of conflict; on one hand the band wants to be a more raw form of metal, but on the other hand they infuse some rather heavy handed but lackluster produced atmospherics, so the result is a confused mish mash of two styles vying for dominance and it reflects on the song writing as ultimately, Satanic Truth About False Union is a pretty contrived and uneventful album.
