Dargaard: The Dissolution of Eternity

Snow days are a wonderful thing; they mean you can stay home and find the time to write. And so, I will do another music review for another album that I discovered via pandora a few months ago and have been hooked on ever since.

The band is called Dargaard, and it hails from Austria. It is made up of only two members, Tharen and Elisabeth Toriser, who use a synthesizer for all the instruments. I have largely only heard this album "Dissolution of Eternity", and it has a very gothic, haunting sound, almost like something you would play on Halloween night or inside a large cathedral.

"As Old as the Bones of the Earth"

The song starts off dark and threatening with what almost sounds like the screech of a bird, and then the vocals and bells begin. It is a very haunting piece. It is a long song (about seven minutes), but it is good nonetheless, making me think of some deep, hidden underground cavern. It ends with the sound of the wind blowing.

"Thy Fleeing Time"

This song is faster than the first one, and it is sung by Elisabeth. It is very haunting, and this is one of the songs that first got me interested in Dargaard.

"A Path in the Dust"

This one has a more threatening, ominous tone though is not as memorable as the first two pieces.

"In the Omnipresence of Death"

This is another seven-minute long song. It has the feel of a requiem and is sung in Latin, and the bells add a nice touch. This is one of the more memorable pieces on the album.

"My Phantasm Supreme"

This song is louder than the other two, and Elisabeth's vocals are almost drowned out by the music. There is the sound effect of wind at times during the piece.

"Night before the Vastland Storms"

The harp plays a big part of this song. While it is less dark than some of the other songs, the bells and drums do give the impression of lightning and thunder being seen and heard from afar.

"Fire's Dominion"

The synthesizer gets a little high-pitched here, but it doesn't last two long. The sound effects of fire can be heard around the middle of the song.

"The Isolated Vale"

This is a gentle, quieter song sung by Elisabeth with a harp strumming in the background. It is a pretty piece.

"A Prophecy of Immortality"

This is a mournful piece with various sound effects like horses and shouting in it. When I hear it, I think of someone not looking forward to living forever on the earth.

"Wanderer at the End of Time"

This song starts off very high-pitched, which I'm not fond of, and I've yet to hear the entire piece because of it.

This album is a very haunting, dark piece. All the songs fit together perfectly, and the synthesizer does an excellent job of sounding like a full orchestra at times. The songs are arranged very well, and a good portion of them are memorable. I'm not much into darkwave or Gothic-sounding music, but I've made an exception for this album.

I give it four and a half out of five stars.