After a nice little intro track this German act plows into damn near an hour of their melodic Swedish death metalcore, which is actually far better than most such bands. I liked their last record a lot and I enjoy this one as well. Their style is pretty typical, perhaps bearing a bit more of a resemblance to some of the bigger names from the late-90's in Sweden, but the songwriting is memorable and that's what gets them by. Expect screaming vocals, a good mix of tremolo picking and dual guitar harmonies, chunkier breakdown rhythms, etc. There are no frills, it's really straightforward, but like I always say: Good riffs and good, solid songwriting make a hell of a fucking difference. I wish there was a little variation to the vocals to add some sort of diversity to the tracks, but I do like that classic European snarl all the same. The songs all run right around four to five minutes or so, and there aren't many great variations in tempo or style, so... it's a consistent listen. The harmonies in "Voice of the Voiceless" have more of an emphatic In Flames swagger, which stands out, "Tree of Freedom" has a much heavier metalcore mosh styled drive, and there are some quick singing vocals accenting the screaming in "To Harvest the Storm", but by and large the only thing that makes a song stand out is how good the riffs are, because it's all basically the same. A couple of bonus covers are tacked onto the end, and the choices are unusual: "Dislocation" by Disembodied and Hate Squad's "Not My God", both of which are cool tracks that stand out and add some spice to the disc. The recording could use some work, but it still sounds really good. I wish it was a bit more polished or clear, but I don't mind it. I really like the guitar tone a lot, it's heavy as fuck and well harnessed for a controlled performance. Other than that, the bass thickens things up a bit but you never really get much of a grasp on it, the drums sound okay, and the vocals are about even with the guitars. It sounds like there's a really light effect on the vocals that sort of gets in the way sometimes, but if they could get more of a natural space and snap about the percussion and clear up the mix just a tad they'd be in a damn good position. The production is still strong, though. I like the packaging, too. Everything looks consistently bleak with collaged imagery of photographs and scribbles and such textures amidst the lyrics. The case comes in a slipsleeve with a bit of additional artwork and glossy red X's on each side. The lyrics follow suit and are pretty bleak as well, hinting at larger political issues and at times really hitting on a forceful delivery. "Greed and addiction drowned their pity, washed away their thoughts of compassion and regret, A world left wounded, slaved and raped, your paradise a hell for your descendants, Cathedrals of justice in a kingdom of hypocrisy, castles of self-righteousness built on graves..." The song titles are all quite goofy ("Tree of Freedom"? "Bleeding to Death"?) when considering how serious the lyrics are, though. All in all this is a solid record. It offers up nothing new for the genre and doesn't see the band particularly progressing (in fact they went more out of their way last time to promote specific politically charged ideas in the lyrics), but the songs are good, the sound is good, and they're still a far superior band to the majority of their counterparts. I see no real reason why the record should last as long as it does considering its lack of variety, but I don't hold that against anyone. If you like this style I'd say give this a shot. I enjoy it and don't find it to be boring.
[Century Media]
Running time - 56:13, Tracks: 14
[Notable tracks: Voice of the Voiceless, To Harvest the Storm, Tree of Freedom, Dislocation]
Century Media - http://www.centurymedia.com
