On Second Thought...

I had previously made a post a while back about what I thought was the needlessness people often exhibited in distinguishing the difference between melodic metalcore and melodic death metal. I thought about this again recently and came up with completely different conclusions that I previously had.

I have of late become annoyed with what exactly is being referred to as "melodic death metal". There are really three types of melodic death metal, one is the melodic metalcore variant that as the name obviously suggests borrows heavily from metalcore/hardcore. The second type is basically power metal or folk metal that uses harsh vocals. And the third is proper melodic Death Metal. Now this is Death Metal with an emphasis on melody, but is still Death Metal unlike the other forms of melodeath that are thrown in the genre.

Its not news to anyone that the genre has strayed heavily from what it originally was. In fact it only took a couple of years before old school melodic death metal had transformed into the pure Iron Maiden worship that the Gothenburg scene became famous for.

But for those who are confused here is a little help for you.

Not melodeath:


Real melodeath:


Not melodeath:


Real melodeath:


Not melodeath:


Real melodeath:


Got it? Power/Folk/Heavy metal + harsh vocals does not = melodic death metal. I really enjoy Evocation, they sound like someone mixed SotS era At the Gates with old school Swedish death metal. Bolt Thrower's 2005 album Those Once Loyal could probably count as melodic death metal in the purest sense, along with:

Carcass - Heartwork
The Black Dahlia Murder - Anything
Advent of Bedlam - Behold the Chaos
Desultory - Counting Our Scars
Chronicle of Tyrants - Nemesis MMIV
Arghoslent - Any
Edge of Sanity - Purgatory Afterglow/Crimson/Crimson II/The Spectral Sorrows
Evocation - Apocalyptic
God Dethroned - Passiondale/Under the Sign of the Iron Cross
Impaled - Death After Life

Some of these bands are considered just regular death metal others are actually put in the proper MDM genre but they are all closer to what most people think of when you say melodic death metal than most of what is lumped into that category these days.

Review: Edge of Sanity - Crimson

Band: Edge of Sanity
Album: Crimson
Year: 1996
Genre: Progressive/Melodic Death Metal

Edge of Sanity may be the only band who can write a 1 song album lasting 40 minutes that I can listen all the way through and want to listen again. Yes this album is that good. I think it's safe to say that Dan Swano had the biggest hand in creating this album and you can tell by how progressive it is.

Ok so first off the lyrics of Crimson are excellent. Swano's vocals are deep and guttural but like Karl Willets from Bolt Thrower, you can still understand what he is saying. So the vocal performance is very fitting to the story. And its a great story at that! A king and queen rule over a population who are unable to reproduce thus bringing the extinction of humans in the near future. The rest of the song recount's the king and queen's child being born, their daughter becoming evil by an unholy god and her rule over what is left of humanity. No worries though, eventually a group of people take her prisoner and humanity is given the gift of life once more.

I have never heard a song that mirrors the emotion of the story being told so well. It is expertly done on Crimson. When the Queen dies (during child birth) and later the King as well, the music echoes this becoming sorrowful and sad. When the populace finds out they have been deceived into sacrificing themselves for the queen it becomes furious and chaotic. The music matches the actions of the story in a truly impressive way.

Swano gives a terrific performance as well. His death growls are as evil sounding as ever but his cleans happen to shine just as bright. Mike Akerfeldt from Opeth contributes both clean and harsh vocals as well. In fact he let's a absolutely morbid scream and holds it for quite a while and it sounds pretty badass.

There are some very memorable riffs in Crimson. We have some really nice acoustic interludes which usually are a sign of one movement making a transition to another. Now there are a few riffs that are repeating. One is a doom riff that is kind of down trod and dark sounding setting the mood. Another is a harmonized twin lead that is just epic! It repeats 2 or 3 times throughout the song and sounds kind of upbeat. Every time I hear this part I bang my head it's just addictive.

But the guitar riffs as a whole are quite catchy. It doesn't matter if they are more in the death metal vein or not, they are all quite memorable. The drumming is pretty straight forward and I enjoy the blast beats here and there. The bass is for the most part buried behind everything else and doesn't exactly play a very prominent role which is unfortunate.

Crimson is a great album that is both progressive and melodic. EoS have created a must have album that could even be appreciated by those who don't listen to extreme music for its depth and the creativity. Do yourself a favor and find this album.

Score: 9/10
Standout Track: umm how about Crimson?!

What i'm up to 3/14

Sooo I'm currently writing a review for Edge of Sanity's album Crimson. This album to me is the epitome of progressive death metal. But I'm not sure how long it's going to be though, considering it is a 40 minute song with multiple movements.

Been listening to a lot of Black Breath lately. The guys are from Seattle and it's nice to see some good bands coming from the pacific north west. I enjoy their brand of crust/hardcore blended with old school Swedish death metal.

Favorite Music Videos

Here are 5 more of my favorite metal music videos:

Edge of Sanity - Black Tears



Entombed - Stranger Aeons



As I Lay Dying - Nothing Left



Arsis - We Are the Nightmare



Metallica - One

Review: Edge of Sanity - Purgatory Afterglow

Band: Edge of Sanity
Album: Purgatory Afterglow
Year: 1994
Genre: Progressive Death Metal

Purgatory Afterglow is where Edge of Sanity decided to start moving more in the direction of progressive death metal. The album does contain a few elements that are not usually found in your run of the mill death metal. This will probably scare away the people who are more interested in the aggression and “brutality” of death metal but it makes the band/album far more unique than most in the genre, at least at the time of its release

The album does have its progressive moments. Twilight contains two softer interludes where just keys are playing as Dan Swano sings or speaks over them. My favorite part of the song is actually in the second interlude where he asks “Will we ever meet again?” and immediately followed by a blood curdling “NO”. It’s moments like this that make the album so great. You have the soft music that is shattered by the death growl and return of the heavier riffs and drumming. What a contrast!

Want to see just how far the band will take their progressive influences? In comparison to something like the acoustic part in Silent, which is nice, it doesn’t hold a candle to the awesomeness that is Black Tears. The song has a very strong punk vibe to it but the buzzsaw guitars and funny tone presented by Andreas Axelsson, and Sami Nerberg allow it to remain heavy. Swano also puts his great singing voice to use here as well, not one death growl is heard on this song.

This all isn’t to say the album doesn’t contain any aggression! This is still a death metal album after all. At times the guitars are very thrashy and as I mentioned that guitar tone only amplifies this heaviness with its crushing sound. Elements of the drumming help as well, both Elegy and Of Darksome Origin contain blasts right off the bat and the entire album is peppered with them. Benny Larsson is very competent and his drumming fits whichever style the music has taken on.

As vocalist Dan Swano really shines. His clean vocals are on the lower side giving his singing a very manly sound. And even when he does sing over heavier music on songs like Blood Colored, it doesn’t at all sound out of place. In fact on that song he switches between harsh and clean vocals quite a bit and it sounds wonderful. The only song where he slips up is on Song of Sirens. Here he uses more of a hardcore shout but the entire song is strange even for an album containing Black Tears and it sounds like it could have been a b-side to Wolverine Blues.

What Edge of Sanity has done with Purgatory Afterglow is made a unique and sonically pleasing slab of death metal. It contains just enough of aggression, prog, and catchiness (oh that Swedish groove!) to make all the songs on the album memorable. While Crimson is often considered their magnum opus it’s safe to say that Purgatory Afterglow isn’t too far behind in terms of quality.

Score: 8/10
Standout Track: Black Tears/Twilight