Album Review - Old Man´s Child - Vermin

Galder has been an important name in black metal for some years now, and more so since he joined Dimmu Borgir. I know that some people don't see Dimmu Borgir or Old Man's Child as black metal since they use keyboards and has excellent sound on their cds, but for me, I'd take a good production over any lousy sounding "true" black metal band anytime. These days most people probably know Galder from Dimmu Borgir, but long before that, he had spawned his own band, Old Man's Child. This is a one-man band where he would hire session musicians to play where he couldn't or wouldn't. The first Old Man's Child album came out already in 1994 and since then he put out several very good cds.

Vermin is Old Man's Child's latest effort and here it is obvious that it is a one-man band. Apart from the drums and a guest solo by Testament/Dragonlord guitarist Eric Peterson, everything is handled by Galder himself. The sound of the album is pretty close to the previous album In Defiance of Existence and so is the style, though I also hear parts reminiscent of previous Old Man's Child cds. The Old Man's Child sound here is very recognizable.

The most obvious cd to compare it to is the previous one, In Defiance... Both albums have a very good sound, especially the drum sound has been upgraded compared to earlier recordings. In Defiance... is one of my absolute favourite cds, so I had very high expectations for Vermin. Though I liked all the previous Old Man's Child albums, it all just came together on this one. Amazing compositions, perfect sound and very good drumming. The drums play a big part on both albums, where Nicholas Barker, (ex-Dimmu Borgir, ex-Cradle of Filth) played on In Defiance... and Reno Killerich (ex-Exmortem, ex-Panzerchrist) handled the drums on Vermin. I knew that Reno had taken over the drums from Nicholas Barker and I was curious if he could possibly match the amazing drum work, which was a big part of the cd. After listening very closely, I can't find anything to put a finger on concerning the drums. Reno is just as fast and tight as Nicholas, but I still prefer the drums on In Defiance... I find the drumming on that one more interesting, but I guess it's mostly a question of taste.

The guitar work is good. Plenty of melodic parts and some good solos too. There is even an Yngwie-part in one solo, where he plays the part that Yngwie has in almost all of his solos. Don't know if this is a tip of the hat to Yngwie, but it's still quite funny. The rhythm guitars can best be described as massive. It really sounds as if there is a whole army of very tight guitarists here. Galder also handles the vocals as on all other Old Man's Child releases and once again he does an excellent job. The keyboards help to keep the melodic atmosphere when it's needed. Galder just has too many talents for a single man!

I have now listened to Vermin many, many times, but somehow it just doesn't grab me as much as In Defiance... The sound is good, good solos and so on, but the compositions have just taken a step back. There are parts here and there that are just brilliant. Parts where the mind of Galder really shines in the compositions, just not as many as on In Defiance... The songs are good, but just not quite good enough to earn the phrase "brilliant". So, I'm still a bit disappointed, but I guess I just had my hopes up too high. Go out and buy it if you like Old Man's Child. It's not as good as In Defiance... but certainly as good as the previous cds, so if you liked those, get this one too.

Written by Tajs
Monday, October 10, 2005
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Ratings

Tajs: 7.5/10

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