Symphonic Black Metal has really taken off in popularity. Black metal purists probably hate that, but combining black metal with orchestration is a natural fit. The most adventurous sub-genre of metal after progressive has to be black metal. Welicoruss are the
quintessensal symphonic black metal band. If you look up what a band in this sub-genre should sound and LOOK like, you'd see their photo.
Granted, they don't have the songs that a band like Dimmu Borgir have and they don't sing in English which ultimately will hinder them. But what they do have in an album like "Az Esm`" is a well-crafted, dramatic opus that any band, black metal or otherwise, should be quite proud of. All the arrangements and orchestration are
immaculate. The songs all flow into each other as one complete, cinematic, conceptual piece.
The main issue that I have with it is that Welicoruss don't offer anything new or different that hasn't been done by bands like the aforementioned Dimmu Borgir or, my personal favorite, Shade Empire and done better. Still, if you are a fan of those bands or any symphonic black metal bands, you would be doing yourself a favor by checking out "Az Esm`" by Welicoruss.
