Out of all the genres, and all of those bands that I listen to, I never thought, knowing myself, that band like Be'lakor would be one of my favorite bands of all time. I mean, its melodic death metal from Australia, what can be so unique and different about them? Well, I never heard melodic death metal like them. Maybe its the fact that they are from Australia, and have different influences than many other bands from Europe or US that I heard, I don't know. What I know is that their song structure is very similar to a classical music structure. So many layers, so much attention to details, so much beauty. I would say that they took word "progressive" in metal, and than, somehow, changed the meaning of it for the better.
First song that I heard from them was "Countless Skies", from their second album, and in my opinion, their best album, "Stone's Reach". That song is one the most beautiful songs I've heard in my life, their magnum opus and obviously, the song that made me fall in love with this band.
They have 4 albums so far and the best thing about Be'lakor and their discography is that you can see them progress and grow with every album they make. They elevated this metal sub-genre so high, that they will remain one of the best bands around.
About them:
Be'lakor is an Australian melodic/progressive death metal band from Melbourne, Victoria. The band's name originates from the character Be'lakor the Dark Master, in the Warhammer Fantasy game setting.
Be'lakor formed as a band in 2004, but didn't start playing live shows until 2005. In 2007, the band self-released their debut album, The Frail Tide, which received generally positive reviews. In 2008, Be'lakor signed with Descent Productions, and re-released The Frail Tide in digipack form.
In 2009, Be'lakor embarked on a national tour, and signed with Prime Cuts Music. Their second album, Stone's Reach, was released on 20 June 2009 and received much praise by reviewers. In November 2009, Be'lakor signed with Kolony Records. In March 2010, Be'lakor's album Stone's Reach took first place in Metal Storm's "Best Melodeath/Gothenburg Metal Album" for 2009. Be'lakor also supported Turisas on their national tour of Australia in May. They were the opening act for Alestorm in Melbourne for their "PLUNDER DOWNUNDER” tour in June 2010. The band also performed at the Summer Breeze Open Air Festival in Germany in August 2010.
Be'lakor released their third album Of Breath and Bone in June, 2012. They began touring Europe, playing Brutal Assault in the Czech Republic. They also performed at the Summer Breeze Open Air Festival in Germany during August 2012. They supported Apocalyptica in Melbourne during their 2012 Australia tour in September, and At the Gates in Melbourne during their tour in November.
In August 2015, the band returned to Europe and played Brutal Assault in Czechia, Rockstadt Open Air in Romania and Summer Breeze. Matt Dodds of Arbrynth took over lead guitar duties for Shaun due to illness.
On September 21, 2015, the band announced that their fourth album would be released in March 2016. Later on December 29, drummer Jimmy Vanden Broeck left the band to pursue other musical ventures. He was replaced by Elliott Sansom, who previously worked with Melbourne-based bands Future Corpse, Okera and The Seaford Monster. On June 24, 2016, Be'lakor released Vessels, the band's fourth album.
Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Be%27lakor
The only sad thing about this band is that they don't have many tours or concerts in these parts of the world, cause they live in Australia, have jobs, families there, so those people that had the chance to hear them, are the luckiest people on earth. So if you are a fan of melodic death metal and you want a band that you'll listen for the rest of your life, here you go, enjoy!
Line up:
George Kosmas - Guitar / Vocals
Shaun Sykes - Lead Guitar
John Richardson - Bass
Steve Merry - Piano / Keyboard
Elliott Sansom - Drums
Links:
http://belakor.bandcamp.com/
http://www.facebook.com/belakorband
http://belakorband.com/
https://instagram.com/belakorband
http://www.youtube.com/user/belakorband
http://twitter.com/#!/belakorband
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Be'lakor / Napalm Records