HGUOLS - EPITOME

Instrumental music in the heavy metal genre is usually a mixed bag. It’s either an excuse for a grand indulgence in the area of the long guitar solo, long monotonous songs with no direction or songs with beautiful melodies that just leap out at you. In this regard Hguols delivers some rather unique musical offerings that often reflect the latter.

Hguols is a one man project with the one man being Thomas Eversole. He has worked up an instrumental album of black metal destruction that he calls "The Bombastic Black Metal Sountrack". However it must be noted that all of the songs written and performed were done a MIDI. For those who may not know a MIDI is an electronic program that is usually used by keyboards. However with computer technology a MIDI can be used there as well. So what we have is 50 minutes or so of blistering black metal played through the use of a computer or keyboard.

Thomas has dubbed this the ‘Bombastic Black Metal Soundtrack.’ That may very well be the case as he has composed some rather haunting melodies. There are some rather frightening harpsichord and choral elements that really will make you think of an old dark house.



The sounds Thomas has been able to attain are quite good. The drums really sound like drums and do the other elements of harpsichord and choir. The element that did take the most getting used to was the sounds used in place of the electric guitar. The replacement sound at times almost sound like the disc is stuck on one spot. That only seems to occur when the melody neither ascends nor descends.

My favorite tracks actually are the last five. All of those songs seem to have more variation and dynamics. ‘Of Sorrowed Hearts,’ ‘Of Winter Moons,’ ‘of Sovereign Toccatas’ and especially ‘of Threnodies Abided,’ all really have some fine melodies. A very gothic and dark feel, (is Dracula or the Phantom of The Opera menacing somewhere). I think this disc is worth your time if you like black metal or gothic instrumental music.

Enjoy!

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