Bibleblack – The Black Swan Empire

Tuesday, September 15th, 2009, posted by K.Panagiotis

I bet my ass this release will be a healing process for many fans of true heavy metal. Especially those who love the heaviness and special atmosphere of most Swedish bands.

Bibleblack are not an exception to all these. In addition, they have two wild cards combined in one word: Guitar work! How can a band consisting of Simon Johansson of Memory Garden and the guitar wizard Mike Wead (King Diamond/ Mercyful Fate/ Hexenhaus/ Memento Mori) be less than special? The two guys cooperate once again after 1995, when they were the guitar duo in the masterpiece of Leif Edling of Candlemass called Abstrakt Algebra. This time they decided to create something a little more extreme. This is not a doom release, though many fans would await for this.

The style of Bibleblack is a bizarre mixture of HEAVY and pounding riffs, most times followed by bizzare melodies, a dark atmosphere and a death metal vocalist. Sometimes they reach the points of the genre, in other parts they sound a little more thrash, but all in all, the result consists of more than just a category.

Seven songs (plus an intro) full of Sweden is the result (and anyone knows Sweden is not only death metal). What makes happy people like me, who have witnessed some older Swedish groups in the past, is that in some parts, it feels like time remained still in the late 80’s or early 90’s. When Mike Wead played in Hexenhaus, a band which has still remained underrated but had a lot to give. When he decides to lead, even fans of Yngwie Malmsteen will drop their jaws with what he’s doing. The closing of the album with ”The Black Swan Epilogue” is one of the best proof of what is called team work. The most different song on the album definitely, causing a sweet melancholy and a sharpened smile together.

I don’t know if Bibleblack will be real emperors and if their empire will last long. All I know is I want already of them to release a next record. I declare myself as a fan of them and I wait for more in the future. I could give a higher rating, but I have to think of you all who are not familiar with this sound, plus the fact that despite its short duration, it is not the easiest album to listen to. One color: Black!

Track List	Line Up
01. Leaving Shangri-La 02. Mourning Becomes Me 03. I Am Legion 04. The Dark Engine 05. Bleed 06. Stigma Diaboli 07. Walk Into Light (Liars Parade) 08. The Black Swan Epilogue	Kacper Rozanski – Vocals Mike Wead – Lead Guitar Simon Johansson – Rhythm Guitar Jonaz Bulund – Bass Tobhias Ljung – Drums