Sworn to the Dark
| Sworn to the Dark | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Studio album by Watain | ||||
| Released | 19 February 2007 | |||
| Genre | Black metal | |||
| Length | 57:42 | |||
| Label |
Season of Mist Southern Lord (SUNN72.5) | |||
| Producer | Tore Stjerna, Watain | |||
| Watain chronology | ||||
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| Professional ratings | |
|---|---|
| Review scores | |
| Source | Rating |
| About.com |   [1] |
| Allmusic |  [2] |
| Blabbermouth.net | [3] |
Sworn to the Dark is the third studio album by Watain and was released on 19 February 2007 on Season of Mist. It features 11 tracks, of which two are instrumentals (track 10, "Dead But Dreaming", is based on the H. P. Lovecraft quote "In his house at R'lyeh, dead Cthulhu waits dreaming"). The album is mostly group-written (the "Holy Trinity" of Danielsson, Jonsson, and Forsberg), except for track 1, "Legions of the Black Light" (lyrics by Set Teitan, formerly of the black/death metal group Dissection), dedicated to Dissection's dead vocalist Jon Nödtveidt, and track 9, "Darkness and Death" (lyrics by Michayah Belfagor of the group Ofermod).
Reception
Chad Bowar of About.com gave Sworn to the Dark 4 of 5 stars and called it "a sinister and forbidding dose of black metal". He went on to say, "You'll hear the droning guitars and frantic blast beats of black metal, but Watain adds a lot of really catchy and melodic riffs and some cool guitar countermelodies." He concluded his review saying, "This is a really well crafted album that's menacing, yet melodic."[1]
Eduardo Rivadavia of Allmusic gave the album 4.5 of 5 stars, saying that the band "achieve a perfect balance between Venom or Darkthrone's outright savagery and straightforward execution, and Emperor's spiraling arrangements and progressive orientation". He went on to say that "you'll definitely find more extreme, misanthropic, or adventurous black metal albums than Sworn to the Dark out there, but you'll be hard-pressed to find one more balanced or — and this may sound contradictory for nasty old black metal — enjoyable".[2]
Scott Alisoglu of Blabbermouth.net rated it an 8, and said: "Watain is a band concerned not with experimentation or genre-bending, just the creation of ripping black metal songs that burn a hole in the soul and leave a lasting impact on the psyche. It doesn't get much better."[3]
The album also made many end-of-year lists, as well. In Terrorizer's Secret History of Black Metal (issued in September 2009), it made the number 13 position on their list of "Black Metal's Top 40 Albums".
Track listing
All songs written and composed by Watain.
| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Legions of the Black Light" | 8:04 |
| 2. | "Satan's Hunger" | 6:46 |
| 3. | "Withershins" (instrumental) | 1:02 |
| 4. | "Storm of the Antichrist" | 4:15 |
| 5. | "The Light That Burns the Sun" | 7:04 |
| 6. | "Sworn to the Dark" | 5:03 |
| 7. | "Underneath the Cenotaph" | 4:12 |
| 8. | "The Serpent's Chalice" | 6:42 |
| 9. | "Darkness and Death" | 4:13 |
| 10. | "Dead But Dreaming" (instrumental) | 2:05 |
| 11. | "Stellarvore" | 8:17 |
Total length: |
57:45 | |
Personnel
- Erik Danielsson – vocals, bass
- Pelle Forsberg – guitar
- Håkan Jonsson – drums
- Set Teitan – lyrics and guitar solo on "Legions of the Black Light"
- Peter Stjärnvind, Alvaro Lillo, Carlos Aguilar, Tobias Sidegård – guest vocals on "Stellarvore"
References
- 1 2 Chad Bowar: Watain – Sworn to the Dark Review, accessed on 29 April 2013.
- 1 2 Eduardo Rivadavia: Sworn to the Dark – Watain, accessed on 29 April 2013.
- 1 2 Scott Alisoglu: WATAIN. Sworn to the Dark, accessed on 29 April 2013.
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