SIGNS OF DARKNESS from Belgium come up with some well executed Black Metal which occasionally crosses the borders to traditional Heay Metal (‘Portraits’) as well as to Death Metal (‘Winters Dying Day’). That’s okay with me although especially the Death Metal riffs used to puzzle me at first. So the music doesn’t get boring easily at least. On the other hand, “The 17th Floor” completely fails to chill my bones – the final criterium for me to recognise a grand Black Metal album. On the other hand, it’s a little harder for Black Metal bands to make me feel cold over the summer, I admit. My fave track is ‘Silent Cold Enigma’: made to be screamed along and maybe on a depressive winter night it might make me feel like Black Metal, who knows? What absolutely counts for SIGNS OF DARKNESS is that their music works in the summer just as well. But once again, this might be the mood I’m in right now: waiting for the next festival and excessive beer drinking. So be sure to check out their website and listen to their MP3s, okay? www.signsofdarkness.be