Beyond the Sixth Seal "Earth and Sphere" CD
[Lifeforce]
Here's some more melodic Swedish styled death metal coming from American shores, but these guys kick the shit out of most of what's out there for several reasons: 1. They know how to write a competent song. 2. They have a suitable recording. 3. Their take on the style may not be 100% original, but it's far more authentic and well performed than that of the vast majority of their contemporaries. Expect a good dose of melody, some dual guitar harmonies, memorable chord progressions and energetic arrangements, lower midrange vocal growls with a lot of texture, a good mix of tempos, and so on. This really is pretty good... every song doesn't sound the same, when they bust out the tremolo picking riffs they don't lose any power, and they honestly do sound like a born and raised Swedish death metal band. If you told me these dudes were from Sweden I wouldn't doubt it at all. There are a few very non-Swedish breaks that have that American slant going on, but if you combined something like earlier Naglfar and Entombed with Darkest Hour the result would be something similar to this I imagine. The recording is pretty damn strong. The drums have some warm density, the bass pops out even though guitars tend to dominate, and the vocals are very forceful... ever so slightly too loud, but forceful. I don't have any real complaints. I'd like to hear more bass, but the guitar tone is awesome and I like the way the vocal textures work in with the music, so... The layout is really minimal, but it looks good. All of the imagery is mainly reddish photos of clouds, and there are some simple illustrations of birds underneath the CD tray and in the center of the booklet. That's really about it. The fonts are consistent and tight, as are the colors. The lyrics seem rather personal, though often they're so cryptic that you'd have to decide for yourself where they're going. "...hordes of whores tear through the symptoms like maggots upon an early grave moral boundaries smashed to nothing worlds of grief collide endless seas of heroes died flood the earth forcing the illusion away for the shortest time a potent wind flows breathless spreading sickness to human crop a potent wind blows callous true being lies in ruin." Not bad. I'm glad this CD crossed my path when it did, because I was really starting to think this entire genre was headed straight into the shitter, but this band reminded me that there are still competent musicians out there playing this stuff. (7/10)
Running time - 35:00 (approximately), Tracks: 10
[Notable tracks: Awaken, Lift High the Banner of Falseness, A Subtle Texture]
Lifeforce Records - http://www.lifeforcerecords.com

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