Borknagar : Quintessence

The new album in the year 2k from Borknagar. With the last album, "The Archaic Course" i was anxious to hear what these guys had to offer for the new millennium, so with that, off to the races we go.

This album is certainly heavier than the previous two albums. The same theme applies, but with a heavier feel to it. The production is pretty well done, my only complaint about it is that
you can hardly hear the keyboards, which play a big part in how the music is actually perceived. They even bring back some of the "aww's" from the first Borknagar album as well as alot of other ties to that album. It seems to me that they tried to mix the debut style and the atmospheric style of the previous two albums into one album and it doesn't sound that bad. They have done it in such a way that makes it sound good, which is done by having a good balance between the two styles so one doesn't drown the other.They even tweak around with the vocal sounds a little, adding some choir like sounds to songs like "The Presence Is Ominous". This album has all the intensity that the debut had but still has the slower parts that "Te Olden Domain" and "The Archaic Course" had. Great album that should be gotten ahold of ASAP. Power to Borknagar in the year 2000.

                                                Overall score: 90/100
Reviewed by Brian