(Review borrowed from Metal Archives, written by colin040)

Chile has become the country of blackened death thrashing madness nowadays and if you’re looking for another great example of such, you can’t go wrong with Force of Darkness. This band started out as a Sarcófago-inspired unit, but this time the band has a few extra surprises in store, even if they continue to create havoc for the most part. Few things haven’t changed here. The vocals remain faithful to those of Wagner Antichrist and range from raspy snarls and comical high pitched yells. Drums provide intensity without turning Twilight of Dark Illumination into a non-stop blasting affair and the riffs usually harken back to practically everything good about extreme metal’s first wave. ‘Retribution of Crowned Chaos’ tells it all and expresses itself as an unholy attack of riffs that fall somewhere between early Destruction and Sarcófago; meaning that the final result sounds a tad more technical than the usual first wave-inspired blackened death thrash that we’ve come to expect nowadays. Granted, the amount of Fago-ism allows the track to remain vigorous; not only due to the amount of spiked metal riffs that lead the stage, but also due to the amount of efficient, if occasional blasting that comes with it. Force of Darkness aren’t afraid to show their experimental side once you’re a few tunes in and this works once the band continues remains metallic at their core with no pretense whatsoever. ‘Genesis of Evil’ features a razor sharp main riff that brings back fun memories of pre-Kisser era Sepultura, before turning into another overwhelming experience of intense drum kicks and Sarcófago-inspired riff madness. But there’s more; just when you thought that the track has shown all sides of itself, a colorful Varathron riff appears out of the blue and takes the track on a different journey. ‘Templi Serpens’ displays a melodic thrash attack at first, but offers a wide ride of attacks that vary from melodic black metal-inspired tremolos to hefty amount of death metal baggage and you can bet that it’s another killer cut. Alas, there are times where Force of Darkness take a few too many steps outside of their comfort zone. ‘Choronzon’s Desire’ slows the hell down and while some extreme metal bands slowed down with great results - think of Sarcófago's ‘Nightmare’ and Vulcano’s ‘Bloody Vengeance’, the results are pretty abysmal in this case. Riffs devoid of any vitality gradually lead towards this uninspired finish of dread and if you’re looking for any melodic hooks or leads to compensate with, you won’t find them here either. I’m also not completely convinced by the near-eight minute long ‘Darkness Shall Prevail’. It starts off in a usual blasting fashion that we’ve come to expect by now, but the melodic approach that the band takes near the three minute mark shows how the band sounds completely out of their element. We’re talking about faceless baritone vocals and a poor Immortal-esque riff that goes on and on until the tune’s finally over. Writing-wise, Force of Darkness have certainly changed, but the same could be said about the production, as Twilight of Dark Illumination features the band’s most modernized and clean production to date. Not only does this mean that each high flying thrash riff and piercing black metal hits with clarity, but it also allows the melodic guitar solos to demand one’s attention between the noisier riffs and blasphemous vocals. This shimmering production works to a certain degree, but given that the band remains interested in first wave extremity for the most part, it’s not too optimal for this kind of style. I’d prefer a dirtier production job that would make the instrument reek of blasphemous disgust. Perhaps that’s something to expect from their next record. Speaking of, here’s hoping Force of Darkness won’t need another eleven years to come up with a follow-up record, because I’m sure that we’re in for more riff-orientated chaos of this band. To conclude with, Twilight of Dark Illumination remains an interesting slab of black/thrash metal and if you can handle the louder-than-usual production that comes with it, you’ll be good to go.