Recorded from October 2003 to January 2004 and mixed from December 2004 to January 2005 at Studio Nest, Narashino, Chiba-pref, Japan. Okay, there might be a lot of metal bands naming themselves "Tyrant", but we're talking about the Japanese symphonic black metal band. Though officially active, this work seems to be their last album, alright. Oh well, you guys got to know what this sounds like so let me tell you. First things first, their style of symphonic black metal really is keyboard-laden (yeah, quite my cup of tea), with the guitars often blending in with the symphonies.Compared to their previous albums, the vocals in this album, "Grimoires", have a sudden change, with the present vocals being deeper than their previous releases. Generally, the music really has an eerie touch in it, which could make it sound like a Castlevania soundtrack, with more symphonies and guitar solos.
There are a lot of okay and good songs here, like "Fallen Angel of Plague" and "Bell, Book and Candle" but the real fun starts with "Thy Night Queen, Hecate". The song has much appeal, even from the start. With almost 7 minutes of symphonic fury, you will hear the drums pummel with inevitable fury with the keyboards playing eerie symphonies. Besides, it sounds different than the other songs. "Babylon, the Great" has a very eerie atmosphere, with a lot of keyboards. Another eerie song worth a mention is "Rebirth of Old Serpent", which is like a constant freezing breeze (quite cold and pure too). The digipack bonus track, "Only the Moon Knows", really sounds different from the other songs, for being far more melancholic than eerie."Despite the difference, the song manages to sound like the album's epilogue, even though the album is devoid of raspy vocals.
Although a good album of its own right, it poses two problems. First, the number of highlights. there might me a lot of okay and good songs here just like what I've said but there are only a few excellent songs were that are worth a mention, although it doesn't mean that those okay (and good) songs will just waste your time. it's just that they should have made each song with more quality in it. Another thing is that the songs seem to follow a certain formula, making them sound quite alike.
It still wonders me why haven't they made any material for a long time, since their music is such a rare breed, if you ask me.It's definitely not that minimalistic in nature, since the songs have guitar solos here and there. Just sit back, relax and listen to this macabre of a music!
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