Change or Continuity ? – 80%
Written by 9xTenebrarumx9, on March 12th, 2012
This review isn’t going to be long because of the album itself, however I do need to have my share of thought about “A Ceremony at the Edge of a Burning Page”. When I first heard about this album I rushed to hear it due to the fact of prior knowledge about BOH. This band, in my opinion, is an extremely well-formed band and has a steady, yet visible style on where they want to head next. In this case, this album didn’t surprise me at all. This band is very predictable if attention is paid close to previous tracks and albums, however the changes that are made in these tracks are without a doubt good ones indeed. Bishop of Hexen are notoriously known for their kick-ass riffs, all-out drumming, blast beats, luscious screeching, and epic orchestration, which is why I knew this album would not fail their fans.
To begin with, I want to start off with the opening album song “A Witch King Reborn…”. This song starts off beautifully, showing off their orchestration first along with the riffs and drums. A few seconds later Lord Koder begins to sing along with the narration. The narration and vocals are immaculate as always, however it’s the orchestration that really sends the song skyrocketing. Like most of their songs, BOH orchestration is well-composed and fits the song. The song itself was definitely slower compared to “The Nightmarish Compositions”, but still brilliant with the riffs. However, as I listened to the orchestration more and more it sounded vaguely familiar to “Archives of an Enchanted Philosophy”, and more specifically “Lure My Spelled Emotions”. Now I enjoyed “A Witch King Reborn…” very much because luckily “Lure my Spelled Emotions” was my favorite song off the album. Overall not a bad song and I give it a 8.5/10.
I just want to say that “All Sins Lead to Glory” is without a doubt the most atmospheric song that I’ve heard from BOH. It’s a more laid back song because of how slow the song is pertaining to the drums. There’s some genuine riffs, but they’re mostly overshadowed by the vocals, so it’s difficult to hear. This song shows the change BOH is making with each album to come, and I for one am very anxious to hear more. I’ll rate this song 7.5/10
All in all, this album was just something BOH gave their fans to let them know they’re still alive and coming back stronger than ever. This ep foreshadows massive changes in the band despite repetition in melodies. It’s worth taking some time in your day to listen to and maybe even learn the lyrics to scream along to as well.