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| metal-observer.com |
Wearing a Martyr's Crown |
7/10 |
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Metal observer
TMO regulars might know that Im a fan of Sweet Vengeance In a time when the worn out term Melodic Death Metal was at an experimental phase with electronics and clean vocals, this band showed up and released a killer album that showcased the sheer strength of the sound when done right, a dear reminder to a lot of us!
Time flies by as the band now stands ready with their fourth long player Wearing A Martyrs Crown. Once again theres been a change in personnel with founder Marios Iliopoulos remaining the sole surviving member from the debut. The new rhythm section retains a tight performance that, in my opinion, was missing on A New Disease Is Born, and the nice galloping leads courtesy of DRAGONLANDs own Olof Morck spark extra colour on the songs.
The material is definitely a step up from Descent Into Chaos and A New Disease Is Born. The band stays true to their initial Melodic Death/Thrash sound, but this time the song writing comes off as more inspired with lots of tempo changes, tons of slick melody and flashy solos and increased layers of acoustic arrangements. Dont take this the wrong way; as much as the band is exploring their melodic finesses, they remain quite heavy and powerful at the same time, especially during the blasting sections that recall classics like The Tremor and Macabre Apparition.
New vocalist Antony Hamalainen does a good job on the songs, cutting down on the clean vox and staying brutal with a versatile mouth of war. When it comes to the albums final mix, I cant say that Im fully impressed with the sound from Studio Fredman; I mean, sure its great to a certain degree, but I would rather see it being more spacious for the sake of the increased melody.
Going for an almost guitar heroesque approach, NIGHTRAGE may possibly win some Power Metal fans over, otherwise the album displays a fair representation of the lighter/catchier side of this genre anno 2009. |
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