Metal Underground.com

Ever since the mid 90s, black metal as a form of music has gone through endless stylistic changes. Black metal bands were no longer afraid to experiment with their sound, following the path paved by Solefald’s 1997 debut “The Linear Scaffold” (which garnered Solefald a flurry of death threats from the black metal scene) and Emperor’s “Prometheus: The Discipline of Fire & Demise.” Those two albums opened the flood gates for black metal acts that were willing to push the boundaries of the genre and move far beyond the one chord, blast beat mentality. Italy’s Children of Megaton is not as progressive and ground-breaking as the above mentioned acts, but it is also in the stylistic territory of adding new elements to the more straight forward take on black metal.

Children of Megaton’s sound falls somewhere in between acts like Dimmu Borgir, Emperor, and Cradle of Filth, while still maintaining an authentic black metal vibe. The blast beats are plenty and at times the music is simplistic, but the album as an entire package has plenty of pleasant moments that are worthy of repeated listens. At times it is hard to deny a strong influence from bands like Dimmu Borgir, as tracks like “Nuclear Fallout” and “In The City Of God” feature guttural spoken word passages that sound way too similar to that of Shagrath’s style. There are also occasional symphonic patches, choir choruses, and high pitch shrieks that recall Cradle of Filth’s sound. With all that being said, and more than likely perceived in a negative way by many readers, “End of All Times” is much more oriented in true black metal than that of the symphonic counterpart.

The album follows a concept, about the end of the world due to a nuclear holocaust. The progressive elements featured on this record are used sparingly and only to enhance the music’s atmosphere, and to aid the band in telling it’s story. The title track works the best in this way, using the orchestral arrangements in perfect sync with the blast beat drumming and wall of guitar noise. Not everyone will enjoy this album as it is directed to more of a niche black metal crowd, but through its short duration there are plenty of positive notes and high points to return back to. The fact all of this comes from just one man, by the name of Dagaz, is also very impressive.

It’s hard to truly place where this album will fit in with many readers. It is definitely more progressive than any true, underground black metal coming out of Europe, but it also may be leaning too far over onto the black metal side for fans of symphonic black metal to appreciate. Regardless, it is a fun, adventurous listen and is recommended to anyone seeking to fill that gap between the true and progressive styles of this underground genre. Children of Megaton’s debut full-length, “End of All Times,” is just the beginning for this Italian one-man black metal act and the future will surely hold even more destruction and fallout.