Review : BORKNAGAR – “Universal”

Borknagar – Universal
released February 22, 2010 on Indie Recordings

Rating : 3.5/5

For all you Borknagar fanatics, their latest is finally here. Universal is the latest and greatest in progressive metal and an epic failure in Black Metal. I’m not saying it’s bad, I’m just saying it’s kind of strange that they’re still sometimes labeled as “Black Metal”. The most noticeable parts of the album are the proggy keyboards and Vintersorg’s epic over-harmonized vocals. It’s got the blast beats and the tremolo-picked riffs, but they seem to fall to the background. Most bands like this would fit into the atmospheric Black Metal category, but these guys are just too clean, schooled and professional for that label. It’s prog, all the way, baby.

I would praise them for bringing the music someplace new, but they’ve had this same sound for years. They deserve credit for excellent musicianship (and improvement in this shows), and they certainly have some riffs that are really driving and heavy, though fall short due to soft production.

Overall, Universal is a very enjoyable album to listen to, but it’s nothing special.

Try 1, 2, 4, 8

01. Havoc
02. Reason
03. The Stir of Seasons
04. For a Thousand Years to Come
05. Abrasion Tide
06. Fleshflower
07. Worldwide
08. My Domain (Guest lead vocal by I.C.S Vortex)