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To Embrace the Vampyric Blood (1996)
Crimson Moon was an American black metal band that formed in 1994. They recorded a handful of things then vanished. Their 1996 debut To Embrace the Vampyric Blood was originally meant to be their third demo. Abyss Records liked it enough to release it on CD as a full album, but the band went into the session with no bigger ambitions than for their previous demos. That mindset shows in the recording’s limitations.
Musically, Crimson Moon sounds like you’d expect from the US in the mid-’90s. When Norwegian black metal hit America, bands were more likely to copy Emperor than Darkthrone. The keyboard presence on this album is strong, and darker than Ihsahn’s synths. The intro has a ’60s/’70s horror vibe, and the atmosphere is occult and gloomy, similar to what Black Funeral was doing at the time. Vocals are grim and fitting; Scorpios doesn’t have a distinctive voice, but it suits the music. Occasionally whispers and clean spoken parts appear, though buried in the mix.
The band mentions Mayhem, Darkthrone, and Immortal as influences, but what you hear sounds closer to Emperor and Graveland. Like Graveland, the riffs are weak and forgettable, often just background to the keyboards and vocals. Not all riffs are even pure black metal, which is typical of American bands that never fully shed their death metal tendencies. With only two members, they used a drum machine that’s too loud in the mix and badly programmed. It distracts and feels less serious. That is often the problem with bands that use fake drums; they lack the knowledge and understanding that a real drummer would have, regarding what style and approach would be best for the compositions. If you can get past this, there is some decent material. At times, riffs rise from the fog and build an epic feeling, similar to Ancient Wisdom’s first album. Being an American band, this release is held to a different standard; as a European band, it would be dismissed as garbage.
The production is the album’s biggest flaw. Guitars are buried under keyboards, vocals, and drum machine at all times. This was a common mistake at the time, as the black metal mentality was fading. Creating a dark atmosphere is essential, but it must come primarily from guitars. Other elements should only support the riffs. This only gets a pass because it started as a demo, not a full album. The weak, outdated sound is probably the only thing saving it.
To Embrace the Vampyric Blood has many flaws that are impossible to ignore. The keyboards overwhelm, the drum machine is terrible, and one song even features a brief female voice speaking nonsense. This is amateurish and should probably be avoided. Crimson Moon should have put more effort into focusing on the creation of meaningful guitar riffs, and less time playing with their new Casio. Recordings like this are a good reminder of why one would be best advised to stick to European black metal and to forget that it was ever adopted by those from the wrong side of the Atlantic. Too few have ever managed to get it right.
Musically, Crimson Moon sounds like you’d expect from the US in the mid-’90s. When Norwegian black metal hit America, bands were more likely to copy Emperor than Darkthrone. The keyboard presence on this album is strong, and darker than Ihsahn’s synths. The intro has a ’60s/’70s horror vibe, and the atmosphere is occult and gloomy, similar to what Black Funeral was doing at the time. Vocals are grim and fitting; Scorpios doesn’t have a distinctive voice, but it suits the music. Occasionally whispers and clean spoken parts appear, though buried in the mix.
The band mentions Mayhem, Darkthrone, and Immortal as influences, but what you hear sounds closer to Emperor and Graveland. Like Graveland, the riffs are weak and forgettable, often just background to the keyboards and vocals. Not all riffs are even pure black metal, which is typical of American bands that never fully shed their death metal tendencies. With only two members, they used a drum machine that’s too loud in the mix and badly programmed. It distracts and feels less serious. That is often the problem with bands that use fake drums; they lack the knowledge and understanding that a real drummer would have, regarding what style and approach would be best for the compositions. If you can get past this, there is some decent material. At times, riffs rise from the fog and build an epic feeling, similar to Ancient Wisdom’s first album. Being an American band, this release is held to a different standard; as a European band, it would be dismissed as garbage.
The production is the album’s biggest flaw. Guitars are buried under keyboards, vocals, and drum machine at all times. This was a common mistake at the time, as the black metal mentality was fading. Creating a dark atmosphere is essential, but it must come primarily from guitars. Other elements should only support the riffs. This only gets a pass because it started as a demo, not a full album. The weak, outdated sound is probably the only thing saving it.
To Embrace the Vampyric Blood has many flaws that are impossible to ignore. The keyboards overwhelm, the drum machine is terrible, and one song even features a brief female voice speaking nonsense. This is amateurish and should probably be avoided. Crimson Moon should have put more effort into focusing on the creation of meaningful guitar riffs, and less time playing with their new Casio. Recordings like this are a good reminder of why one would be best advised to stick to European black metal and to forget that it was ever adopted by those from the wrong side of the Atlantic. Too few have ever managed to get it right.
(23 Oct. 2012)
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