Fragments of Unbecoming "Skywards - A Sylphe's Ascension" CD
[Metal Blade]
For some reason I'm not at all surprised that this German act plays generic melodic Swedish styled death metal. I don't know why, but everything about this record just looks like that's what it is, and that is what it is, so... it is what it is, and... that's... all... that it is...? Now, this isn't a bad record. It's competently performed, the recording is decent, the songs are alright, and so on. I call them "generic" with somewhat of a negative connotation simply because there really is absolutely nothing about this album that is in any way, shape, or form creative, nor is it different from the millions of other bands you've already heard this material from. And in fact, it's a bit more tiresome and lacking in energy compared to most of these bands. Expect lots of alternate picking palm-muting riffs, a shitload of tremolo picked runs, the occasional dash of lush acoustic guitars to spice things up, ample dual guitar harmonies, sneering midrange vocals, etc. The acoustic guitars are the best part for me just because they sound really nice and do add some change of pace, but for the most part it's totally run of the mill, moderately fast melodic death metal. "Insane Chaosphere" is the only track that's significantly slower and heavier (even using lower vocals), still keeping the Swedish influence by bringing in a bit of an early Entombed ring on occasion. The recording is fine. It needs work to really be 100% there, but I can live with it. The bass gets lost and the percussion is insanely rigid (mainly the kicks, most of the other drums and cymbals are pretty good), but the guitars dominate as they should with this style of metal. I could stand for more overall clarity and density, but there's nothing about the recording that's necessarily holding them down. The layout is strange, as there's no real content other than artwork and thanks lists. The artwork is fairly consistent in color scheme and style, and the text is pretty clean, so it looks strong for the most part (the band logo is silly), but I definitely find it weird that instead of lyrics there are just a bunch of thanks and some brief credits. All in all this isn't a terrible record, but even if you absolutely love this style this is in no way mandatory. Some of the songs run too long, there are too many unnecessary little instrumentals bulking up the total length, and the songwriting is actually typical enough to pose a large problem for the band. (5/10)
Running time - 41:33, Tracks: 12
[Notable tracks: Skywards - A Sylphe's Ascension, Entangled Whispers in the Depth]
Metal Blade Records - http://www.metalblade.com

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