It’s that time of year again. Where those of us with faith celebrate the resurrection of Jesus Christ, and those of us who are casual or don’t have a religion none the less sit down to a nice meal with family, and the crown of the day is a nice basket with candy. That’s definitely what happens in my household, but for me this is one of the few times of the year that the more.....religious music in my collection comes out. Now, for the past few years I’ve taken looks at E Nomine, and I’ve definitely had fun reviewing their discography. A Techno/Electronica group that uses religious iconography for their lyrics & their music’s atmosphere, they have quite the following in Europe, and have something of a cult status here in the United States. Last time I reviewed something from these guys, is was their ode to horror movies & the occult in their 2nd release, Finsternis. Today’s review sees them go back to their roots, but with a darker twist. So, make sure your basement is stocked for the end of the world, have some chocolate, and sit down for my review of E Nomine’s third album, Die Prophezeiung. Let’s begin!
Background
As I said in my last review, finding information on E Nomine’s career is exceptionally difficult. Wikipedia is really the only reliable source on the group, and even then the amount of info is minimal at best. What little on the site that can be found is that literarily 1 year later, E Nomine released Die Prophezeiung on the 14th of April, 2003. It was a return to form for them, as they left the Occult & Horror Movie themes of Finsternis behind, and returned to the more biblical themes of Das Testament. More specifically, they went with the subjects of apocalyptic prophecies about, the struggle between light and dark, death, and the afterlife. It wouldn’t be as high on the German charts as last time (Finsternis was at no. 3), but it would still sit at a comfortable level for quite some time (No. 12 on the chart).
Basic Description
A return to form.
For anyone that wasn’t a fan of the topic shift on their second album (Though I don’t know why anyone would not like it), this was a welcome return to E Nomine’s first release thanks to bringing back the biblical subject matter. Things are a bit darker this time around, as like I said above, the group decided to explore the Book of Revelations, not to mention apocalyptic prophecies & the other subjects I mentioned above. The end result is what might very well be E Nomine’s darkest release in their career: a record rooted in their patented take on Techno/Electronica with Gothic & Industrial undertones, but with a bleaker atmosphere that what they did before. Unique like everything they’ve done!
Best Track
Schwarze Sonne is not only the best song of Die Prophezeiung, but it also happens to be the tune that I discovered by accident nearly 4 years ago that led me down the E Nomine rabbit hole. I loved the atmosphere of the track quite a bit, but it’s the English version that I especially enjoy. Though the play time is shorter (It’s officially 3-ish minutes on the original release, 7-something minutes on a later re-release, and 5-something minutes for the English version), it’s nice to hear the song in my home language, and some of the beats & rhythms have been re-arranged to change things up. At the end of the day though, both versions are nice to listen to, and aren’t time wasters in any way.
Schwarze Sonne (Original Album Edition)
Schwarze Sonne (Re-Release With Translations)
Schwarze Sonne (Pure English Version)
Worst Track
I normally would complain about an album’s bleakness, but this is one of the few exceptions where I feel that it actually works in Die Prophezeiung’s favor. My only real complaint is the pacing, and I will say that this record is their slowest. There is a track or two that is faster than others, but for the most part this release has rather slow pacing. This results in an album that may be a slog for some, and because of that I had to give this record it's lowest score out of the 3 (More on that in a moment).
Other
If you’re curious about listening to this album, then click on the link below:
Die Prophezeiung
Overall Impression & Rating
Die Prophezeiung is a great album, and a wonderful return to the subject matter that got them so popular in the first place. It might be their slowest release for some, but it still manages to be atmospheric and groovy. If by some chance this record comes your way, give it a listen to. I don’t think you’ll be board at all!
Die Prophezeiung gets a 7 to 7.5 out of 10.
And that was my look at E Nomine’s 3rd release, Die Prophezeiung. Though there is technically a 4th record, for all intent & purpose this is my last look at the group, though I might consider it for next year if I can find it. I hope you all have a nice rest of the day, and I’ll see you next Friday for my look at one of my no. 2 albums of 2023. Take care!
***
If you’re curious about their prior 2 records, click on the links below to see them:
Das Testament (First Review)
Finsternis (Second Review)
Also, if you’d like to look at the brief history of the band, click on the link below:
E Nomine (Wikipedia)
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