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Germany's Black Metallers Dark Fortress have returned to drop their fifth full-length release upon our eagerly awaiting souls. Having parted ways with founding vocalist Azathoth, thus leaving guitarist Asvargyr as the only original member, Eidolon, a concept album, is the recipient of a gigantic modern production which leaves all the instruments, including the bass, audible in the mix. Some folks have written this off as a Black Metal clone of mid-period Dimmu Borgir, and yes, while Eidolon does mildly tend to traverse into this territory, it surly falls woefully short of being just another woeful imitation. In terms of the songwriting all the songs are extremely catchy, and as such, for those just beginning to wet their palates relative to the Black Metal scene, this serves as an excellent introduction. The guitar tone is stellar, with huge bulking riffs that contain a nice mixture of thrashiness, coupled with an intelligent blending of Black/Power Metal, without compromising any of the necessary savageness and evil that Black Metal fans demand, not to mention the solos are awesome as well. The haunting screeches of new vocalist Morean more than fill the void created by Azathoth's departure, moreover the storyline of the album, which focuses on the occult, was written predominantly by Morean.

In the final analysis, if you are a fan of powerful and melodic Black Metal you will be aptly satisfied with this latest Dark Fortress offering and those preferring the rawer, atmospheric style should stay away. The only criticism I can muster is that the album does begin to drag a little as you approach the last couple of tracks. That aside, in the overall balance of things Eidolon is a skillfully written and executed collaboration which serves as a credible entry to the Dark Fortress catalog.