Emissaries is one of the shortest full-lengths thusfar in the Melechesh discography, only being longer then the group's debut full-length effort. Of course, this doesn't mean that this effort has less quality to it. Actually, Emissaries is one of the strongest efforts by Melechesh, and shows that with each new release, the band only continues to mature and cement their rather unique take on Black Metal. On this recording, the passion to create intense and often brutal sounding music is there, and displayed for all to see, down to the insanely fast and technical guitars, the well paced drummer, and the powerful vocal performance. But, alas, there is still something not quite right with this album.
Again, the album is simply furious right out the gate, and it just never seems to stop. Infact, sometimes it just picks up. While "Rebirth of the Nemesis" is a fantastic song that stems from the mythological Tiamat of the Necronomicon Exmortis, the music here is well suited to the band's signature Middle Eastern musical approach and atmosphere, but is far from the most impressive track on the album. Of course, this isn't to say the song is bad, as it's one of the more addicting tracks on the release and does it's job well to welcome the listener to the madness, but it seems like the music and technical aspect of the band just keep expanding as you continue through the release. "Touching the Sphere of Sephiroth", unfortunately, is the last intense track before things do start to slow down. This song is absolute Black Metal insanity and will throw any fan of the style into a frenzy with furious guitars and drumming, as well as highly energetic vocal performance that puts many other songs on this release to shame. The only reason the pace seems to shift so suddenly is to make room in the middle of the album for a cover of The Tea Party's song "Gyroscope", a rather out of place tune, especially since the following track, "Double Helixed Sceptre", brings things right back to the fast paced music that started this release off, but it's just entertaining to hear the band put their own spin on it which, of course, is very well done.
The rest of Emissaries varies greatly as far as the speed goes."Gyroscope" really is where things seem to take a different angle, and it carries over into other tracks. "Double Helixed Sceptre" does bringt he intensity back, but closes out a little slower then how it starts off, having more of a Folk feel to it then that style blended with Black Metal, though many of the trademarks of the latter style still exist in the song. The big difference near the end is the vocal approach, which seems more laid back, and almost as if Harmony was taken into consideration for this album. Of course, then there's "The Scribes of Kur", which is an instrumental that is essential just a Middle Eastern Folk track that sounds as authentic as it gets, leaving the listener with visions of darkened skies with blistering deserts being windswept with the sand kicked up, bleached bones scatter throughout the horizon, and a caravan of individuals that stereotypically are crossing this nightmarish plain on camels. The last song that really stands out on the ending of Emissaries comes from the more first wave Black Metal sound of "Leper Jerusalem", having that old-school feeling of anger and intensity to it, right from the opening riffs.
However, the one thing that does drag this album down a bit lies once again with the production of the guitars. There are just some songs where the guitars have the traditional Black Metal higher pitch to them, but the bass is rather low in the mix, leaving the guitars to stand alone, and with the distortion used, being very clean in the first place, it leaves the song feeling a little empty. Sadly, this appears mostly during the faster cuts off the album, and once in a while, depending how the guitars are played, the music can even sound lonely, like there should be a rhythm track behind there and the lead guitars just don't quite have the strength to carry the song themselves. That, and, very rarely, you can also hear moments where it sounds like they have dropped out. If you pay close enough attention, the latter can be spotted during the song "Touching the Spheres of Sephiroth", mostly near the end.
With the exception of the very out of place "Gyroscope", Emissaries is a fantastic album that simply doesn't disappoint. This energtic album is full of songs that just come at you hard, and for the most part at an intense, fast pace. While the faster tracks are really the ones that stand out, and typically have a much longer length to them then some of the slower songs, a few of the latter tracks really step out into the spotlight too, mixing various ideas such as instruments and a more first wave Black Metal assault to the band's advantage. Obviously, Melechesh is not done growing, or experimenting, but there's no doubt that they will continue to evolve into a very hostile musical force.
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