Review: Norther - Circle Regenerated

Band: Norther
Album: Circle Regenerated
Year: 2011
Country: Finland
Genre: Melodic Death/Power Metal

I'm really not into the whole Children of Bodom clone deal. CoB themselves and the bands they spawned have just never really interested me. They are dull, weak, and try to rape you with their over use of keyboards. When you use a shit band as the basis for your sound, results should be rather obvious. So its not wonder that Norther's new album, Circle Regenerated, is just not my cup of tea.

First of all the vocals are trash. Its like an even further watered down version of Alexi Laiho who sounds like crap to begin with. Setting aside the harsh vocals, who ever does the clean singing here needs to be fired. Its not the fact that there are even clean vocals at all, I can stand them but they have to be good. This is just not good singing. While the singing is on the melodic side its just not very good.

Lets see what else, oh the riffs! There isn't really much to talk about here. I mean they are there but seem so shallow and poppy. Its hard to find much substance to what the band has come up with on CR. I will admit the solos are melodic and probably the best part of the album. But when you look at the big picture that isn't really saying much, is it?

The drumming and bass are standard melodic death metal fare. Not that I can really hear the bass at all, but like I said, standard melodic death metal. You get what you would expect from these kind of bands for drumming. A lot of double bass, but overall the rest is boring and unimaginative. Some creativity in the drums (or the album as a whole) would have been nice. And the keyboards? When they take center stage as they always seem to do with these power metal melodeath hybrids, its just annoying. I personally enjoy keys when they are used for atmosphere but bands like Norther just love to shove it down your throat. The production is ok, but the guitars seem a little thin. They have no punch and come off as very light.

I just cannot enjoy this drivel. Its so derivative and Norther are basically aping an already worn out style. The guitar solos are the only redeeming factor in this album for me. Some of the chorus parts are just ok but since the rest of the song is crap it doesn't help too much. We already have a Children of Bottom, must we be subjected to a slew of other bands who sound like them? I guess if you like CoB or the other bands that follow that trend you might like this, but I still don't get why.

Score: 2/10
Standout Track: Please don't make me listen to any of this again!

Review: Insomnium - One For Sorrow

Band: Insomnium
Album: One For Sorrow
Year: 2011
Country: Finland
Genre: Melodic Death Metal

The Finnish melodic death metal scene just doesn't do very much for me. Whether its Omnium Gatherum, Mors Principium Est and up until this album Insomium. But One For Sorrow is a bit better than the rest, including Omnium Gatherum's album New World Shadows that came out earlier this year.

If I were to describe Insomnium on One For Sorrow I would say they sound like a slower In Flames (Pre-Clayman) with a focus on doom and gloom type riffs and atmosphere. In fact the guitar harmonies are straight up what you would expect to hear off of Colony or Whoracle. This isn't bad though, it might not be very original but In Flames always were my favorite with how well done the harmonies were. Its easy to see that band was probably the biggest influence on Insomnium, listen through Only One Who Waits.

But the slower songs rule this album though. Lay the Ghost to Rest (which has great riffs), One For Sorrow, and Inertia all exude the slower more depressing kind of sound that Insomnium are well known for. Not to mention the instrumental Decoherence which is an extension of that sound but even darker and softer.

The one thing I do enjoy about these bands from Finland though is the vocals. They completely drop the higher pitched growls that the Swedish bands make such heavy use of and go for a lower more obvious death metal tone. There are some clean vocals here but they are used sparingly and done very well. Its not really that the cleans are even that good as far as vocal quality is concerned, but that they are put into parts of songs where they add another dimension to it all.

The only real complaint I have is the thing that most people seem to enjoy about this band. The whole sad/depressing sound does get a little tiring. The songs are good but that atmosphere isn't as well done as I have heard on other albums, Mirrorworlds by Eucharist being the most obvious example. Though if you enjoy that sound as many people seem to it won't bother you at all like it does me.

One For Sorrow is a really solid album with great melodies and harmonies. The dark sound is interesting but it kind of became tiring to me. The vocals, both clean and harsh, are really well done and I enjoy hearing the guttural style that Niilo Sevanen uses. This has become probably one of my favorite releases from a Finnish melodeath band.

Score: 8.5/10
Standout Track: Regain the Fire, Through the Shadows, Only One Who Waits

Review: Omnium Gatherum - New World Shadows

Band: Omnium Gatherum
Album: New World Shadows
Year: 2011
Country: Finland
Genre: Melodic Death Metal

First off the vocals on NWS are pretty killer. Jukka Pelkonen has a great growl and contrary to what is the norm for the genre, his are lower and more guttural. It is a joy to listen to him tear apart his throat while delivering the lyrics. There is also a clean section during the track New World Shadows where Dan Swano does guest cleans. I listen to this song if only to hear how epic the great Dan Swano is and how much he adds to the track.

I can say this is actually a decent album but there are a few problems that bring it down for me. The band adds a little too much softer/gentler/whatever to the songs and it sometimes seems a little forced. Most of An Infinite Mind would be a good example of this. The song is really lacking in heaviness through a significant portion of its length and it is boring and I literally am waiting for the heavy part to come back and smash me in the face. The same could be said for Deep Cold and the instrumental track, Watcher of the Skies. Certain parts of the album just feel a bit inconsistent and these more mellow parts take away from the flow of it all. I know they were trying to be melancholy and all that but it just doesn’t do it for me. This is especially true in the back half of the album.

Ok so besides the songs where the band tries to play depressing softer tunes there are actually some really good guitar riffs to be found on New World Shadows. Both Ego and Soul Journeys have really fun riffs and they wreak of Amon Amarth/Viking metal worship. And as a whole these songs are good, especially how the vocals/lyrics go well with the music during the verse and chorus parts of Ego. But like I mentioned before New World Shadows has one of the most memorable parts vocally and the guitars only add to it.

The drumming is solid. There are some blast beats thrown in at times like near the end of Everfields and that helps to change things up a little. Double bass is also pretty present through a lot of the songs whether no matter what pace the guitars are playing at. The bass is also very prominent at times too, especially during the verse parts of An Infinite Mind. Otherwise its your standard melodeath affair of “bass? we don’t need no stinking bass!”. The keyboards add some nice atmosphere and aren’t the annoying in your face use like some bands. The production is very clear and I guess you could say “modern”.

If it weren’t for the fact that the band tries to shove more “progressive” elements and softer parts of songs down the listeners throat I would have enjoyed this album much more. But as its done to the degree it is I cant help but take a big chunk off the score. Of course that doesn’t make this a shitty release. Like I said before, it’s a decent album and there are still plenty of reasons to go back and give it listens in the future. If you are looking for a more progressive minded approach to melodic death metal then New World Shadows is probably for you.

Score: 7/10
Standout Track: New World Shadows

Oops!

Made a mistake in my last post. I said most Finnish melodeath either has a strong element of doom infused into it or is folky. The bands aren't usually as folky as they seem to take more of their queues from power metal. Notice bands like Children of Bodom, Norther, and Kalmah who particularly use this style of melodic death. It seems very rare to have proper Gothenburg styled melodic death bands coming from Finland.