I love to read metal genre descriptions. Tom O'Dell (who records as Dwarrowdelf) describes his sound as Tolkien-based epic metal. By that he means black metal augmented with piano and synth that play very forward in the mix. And mostly rendered in 6/8 time (that hypnotic up-down beat separated by triplets made most famous by Iron Maiden).

Dwarrowdelf The Fallen Leaves (self-released)

Oh, and the vocals are mostly intelligible. And yet there are lovely black metal guitar washes and general fury lurking beneath the waves. Some may find the emphasis on melody to be cheesy (that would be the "epic" part), but count me as a fan. Beauty and horror can co-exist, and sometimes they combine to make something truly spectacular.

O'Dell certainly has a sure hand on his style here. This is his fourth outing as Dwarrowdelf, and he has a good feel for what works. I think the piano and synth sound a bit thin at times, but that also emphasizes their relatively ethereal contribution.

Most impressively, the songs are driven by both guitar and keyboard elements. One or the other often predominates, but the best moments come when they are in confluence. I still haven't quite worked out the "Tolkien" part of the description, other than "Dwarrowdelf" (which is another word for Khazad-dum, the dwarf kingdom) and an obvious focus on good vs. evil. Whatever. Mine ears have heard the glory.

Jon Worley