Have you ever had the feeling that, even though an album sounds pretty decent, it just doesn’t do it for you? Well, Quaerite Lux In Tenebris… is such an album. While the symphonic black metal is varied and at times even intricate, it somehow fails to spark my interest. The more I listen to this CD, the more it alienates me. Raging guitar riffs and melodic slow paced interludes blend in a blur that is not unlike the blur that clouds my mind when seriously listening to this album.

What is the problem with this release? Nothing much really. Maybe it is the familiarity of the music itself that fuels my lack of enthusiasm. Quaerite Lux In Tenebris… sounds very strongly like early Lux Occulta (with a big touch of Dimmu Borgir) and specifically the vocals and the vocal lines. While this is not a problem per se, the lack of conviction that Lux Occulta poured into a release like Dionysos is a problem. The whole album is of a pretty high standard with good song structures that offer both aggression and melody but it just lacks enthusiasm. It is all slightly too clinical for my taste.

At times Rossomahaar manages to really impress me, like for instance during the last track “Transenflamed Visions Of Your Mortal End” but then somehow manages to ruin that all with one terrible guitar riff.

I do not know what they were thinking but halfway the song they burst into a riff that is exactly the same as the main riff of Anthrax’s “State Of Euphoria”. But that’s not the worst of it; the worst is that it doesn’t even fit the song at all. While Rossomahaar rages in a style that finally manages to challenge the Lux Occulta of old, with a beautiful guitar riff that sends shivers down your spine, they rip it all to pieces with a pretty straightforward thrash riff. Granted, thrash riffs are a big part of nowadays melodic black metal (thanks to Dimmu Borgir for that).

Quaerite Lux In Tenebris… is all in all a pretty decent album, but it lacks emotion and if compared to other bands from the ex-Soviet Union region like Nokturnal Mortum and Rakoth, they could do with a bit more originality and a little less straightforwardness. I’d prefer the two aforementioned bands any given day. However, if you dig the current trend in melodic black metal you might want to check out Rossomahaar. If you however, care a bit more about originality I’d stay clear of this release.