Old Man's Child - Vermin (CD)

All Music Guide

Never quite able to compete with the heaviest hitters of Norwegian black metal (Emperor, Darkthrone, Mayhem, Enslaved), Old Man's Child appeared headed to the alsoran scrap heap when main man Galder decided to join his more successful rivals, Dimmu Borgir, in 2001. But, ironically, it's almost as if accepting second fiddle status was exactly what the multiinstrumentalist needed to ensure that postDimmu Old Man's Child records of which 2005's Vermin is the second would rank among their best works to date. Not earthshattering, not revolutionary, but sturdy, entertaining, "civilized" Scandinavian black metal featuring semisymphonic highlights like "Enslaved and Condemned," "The Plague of Sorrow," and "The Flames of Deceit," executed with the clinical precision that OMC fans have come to expect. The very nature of this controlled attack means that some of the genre's more extreme savagery is inevitably forfeit during delivery, but occasional offerings such as "War of Fidelity" (with its ...machinegun riffing) and "Lord of Command (Bringer of Hate)" still manage a few episodes of nearcontrol loss, now and then. Yet its probably Galder's talents at conjuring endless sinister melodies not his competent but notexactlyunique vocal growls, not his admirable but equally subDimmu orchestrating abilities that supply Vermin's most frequent distinguishing moments. That and the rotating, quasifolk melody threaded through the rather unusual "Twilight Damnation," which precedes the industrial outro "…as Evil Descends" in wrapping up what, as advertised above, is a solid, unspectacular, but above averagequality Old Man's Child album. - Eduardo Rivadavia, All Music Guide Read more Less