(Review originally posted by That Metal Station. Link to original can be found here: http://thatmetalstation.com/in-twilights-embrace-the-grim-muse-arachnophobia-records/)
In Twilight’s Embrace – The Grim Muse – 8.0/10
The Grim Muse is the third album by In Twilight’s Embrace, a five-piece Polish metal band that has equal amounts of influence from black metal and melodic death metal. The melodic death metal influence obviously plays a part in the melodic guitar riffs as well as in the harsh vocal delivery as opposed to the shrieked vocals that are greatly important to the genre of black metal. However, black metal has an important roll in the atmosphere of this album. The background is filled with the white noise and distortion that is key with classic black metal recordings from the early careers of Enslaved, Darkthrone, and Emperor. That paired with the vocal styles of early In Flames, Dark Tranquility, and especially At The Gates make this an overall nostalgic sounding album. It is 57 minutes in length, and is enjoyable from start to finish. However, the problem with creating an album that sounds like it belongs in the mid 1990s comes with the problem of sounding like things that metal fans have already heard many times before. This album, and this band in general run the risk of getting lost in a sea of bands that are all trying to recreate the wonderful music styles of the 1990’s. This album is very well put together and deserves to stand out, even just a little bit. The guitar solos are great when they happen, as are the sporadic moments when they slow things down and the singer gets to talk in a very low, gothic style. The album features contributions from members of Bloodthirst, The Dead Goats, and even Tomas Lindberg (vocalist of At the Gates) himself. My only complaint is that it is quite difficult to hear when Tomas is contributing as opposed to the usual singer. I like when bands make it clear when a guest vocalist is taking their turn. Overall, I was impressed by this release and the band’s continued growth.
Check the band out for yourself here.
http://www.facebook.com/intwilightsembrace
– Jordan Salfity
View of the Sunrise 