If Hope Dies-The Ground is Rushing Up to Meet Us
(IronClad Recordings, 2003)

I’m going to go out on a limb here, these guys have been called metal core but this is a total metal record. Sure, it has breakdowns similar to what you’d hear in some metal core, but these riffs are straight up metal riffs. For every riffs that reminds me of say Poison the Well, there are even more that remind me of In Flames. So essentially if you need to throw the metal core tag into the ring, say they sound like a cross between US style metal core and In Flames slower moments,

It has become somewhat of a trend to throw in some Swedish sounding guitar riffs, but to me it seems to be more of the faster stuff that’s trendy. If Hope Dies mainly uses slower melodic riffs, and doesn’t really clone the Gothenburg sound much at all. They definitely don’t sound like one of the many bands that has listened to Poison the Well and At The Gates far too much. The slower melodies and harmonized guitar riffs definitely add a lot to the music and are some of the stand out riffs on this cd.

If I had to nitpick about the bands songwriting I’d say maybe tighten up the structures a little bit. As is some of the songs tend to sound similar. They need to do something to break up the songs and make certain songs stand out. That said, these guys write some sick music and might be shunning the typical verse/chorus/verse style. I’m sure with repeated listens everything becomes much more memorable.

The production is actually a lot better then I was expecting it to be. It’s heavy and tight, and pretty much serves as the perfect production for the budget the band probably had. I think that possibly the vocals are a bit too loud and the bass drums overly clicky sounding, but that’s being overly anal. It’s loud, heavy and easy to rock to, that’s what’s important.

I’m curious to see how far this band will go now that they are embarking on bigger tours and hitting more markets then ever before. This is a damn good album that hopefully will not be overlooked.

Immortal Souls-Ice Upon the Night
(Facedown, 2004)

Facedown is probably one of the last labels you would expect to license a melodic death metal album from Finland, but here it is! Immortal Souls like I mentioned are from Finland and play a melodic style of death metal reminiscent of Dark Tranquility, Soilwork and Children of Bodom.

Now that I think about it it’s actually somewhat of a stretch to call this death metal. It’s more like an aggressive combination of power metal and a bit of Swedish melody. It’s actually a lot more mid tempo then most melodic death metal bands and doesn’t really pick up the pace more then a few times throughout the entire cd. I hear the power metal influence in how there are a lot of guitar leads, and the overall melodic approach leans towards power metal. It’s actually what reminds me the most of Children of Bodom, who themselves actually have a lot of power metal influence to their sound.

Like I mentioned earlier this band is very melodic. Very few riffs will go by without a melody or twin guitar run on top. A lot of people might assume that this makes the band sound like In Flames, but I wouldn’t agree. The type of melodies just aren’t similar. In Flames has always leaned more towards the Iron Maiden side of things, and I’m not sure who in particular I’d compare these melodies to. They definitely do add a lot to the music and help the songs breath and become more then just a collection of riffs.

Guitar solos are a big part of the bands sound as well. There was a time when I was a bit tired of solos, but these are some of the best I’ve heard in a long time. The guitar player can definitely play, but he isn’t always showing off all of his talents. He lays back, and only lets it rip on occasion. If every solo was a mind numbing frenzy of notes I’d be left dizzy, but thankfully these solos are tasteful.

One of the main complaints I had at first was the lack of speed. But the more I listened the more it made sense. These guys aren’t all about speed, they have a tight approach to songwriting and keep things concise. I did really enjoy the bands faster moments, so I would have liked to see a few more, but overall it doesn’t hurt the album. You just can’t go into this expect a blisteringly fast album, and you won’t be disappointed.

If you are looking for a well written album of melodic and diverse metal then look no further. I could see fans of Children of Bodom and Soilwork especially being into this. Fans of melodic and solo filled metal take note!

Incapacity-Chaos Complete
(Cold/PHD, 2003)

I was expecting this to be fairly typical when the first song started sounding very much like a million other Swedish influenced bands. But after the vocals started barking and the song went through many changes in tempo, I started to realize that they aren't just another typical band. They aren't exactly breaking the mold either, but they aren't Gothenburg clone band #10,000.

Incapacity is basically a combination of Swedish death metal, thrash, and fierce blasting. A great deal of the riffs are melodic, but they also have some straightforward and heavy death metal style riffs. I'd say that even though the melodic riffing is more thrash influenced then possibly Swedish death metal influenced. It definitely has a Swedish edge, but you can tell that these guys were influenced by thrash metal as well. So I guess you'd call it death/thrash.

Regardless of what tempo these guys are playing, they play with a great deal of energy. A lot of times energy is lost in an overproduced metal album, but this album sounds great and still has energy to spare. You can tell by listening to this album that the band would have a very energetic and chaotic live show. It's the type of music that can't help but get people moving. It's memorable without being predictable, yet easy enough to get into on the first listen.

If you are into the whole "featuring members of" thing, this band features members of Solar Dawn, Unmoored, and vocalist from Cryptic era Edge of Sanity. It's no surprise when you hear how proficiently these guys churn through the 10 songs that make up this cd. You could call it a super group if you want, but let's just call it an amazing band.

As far as thrash influenced death metal goes, it doesn't get much better then this. If you thought Terror 2000 was bringing thrash back and making it more extreme, just wait until you heard Incapacity. This album will tear your face off and you'll love every minute of it.

Incision-Revealed and Worshipped
(Earache, 2004)


Death metal really needs a kick in the teeth right now. Incision seem more then happy to turn the genre right on it's head with this new 11 track album of blasting insanity.

Thanks in part to an amazing production courtesy of Soundlab Studios, Incision come across as much more pissed off and grindcore in nature on this album. The album showcases some of the most energetic playing I have ever heard on a death metal album. The bands riffing is technical, but the raw production allows everything to come across as rather barbaric in nature. It's executed perfectly yet has an energetic and live sound.

One drawback this style is that it's not exactly the most memorable form of metal. Then again this style to me has always been about pummelling the listener with no regard for the potential ear damage. The band does however have a lot of memorable riffs. A few riffs are slower and more dissonant. A riff in the second song is even a bit groovy. The core of the bands sound though is definitely blast beats and furious riffing. But like I mentioned they have some memorable moments as well.

Death metal has been losing a bit of steam lately but Incision proves that the genre is still vital. If you are a fan of violent death metal with more then just a hint of grindcore added, then you need to check out this album.

Earache Records Website

In Flames-Soundtrack to Your Escape
(Nuclear Blast/PHD, 2004)

When a band reaches the level that In Flames has people will just buy the cd regardless of what any reviews have to say. With that in mind, I’ll tell you this. It’ll be a good purchase. I wasn’t extremely into Reroute to Remain, but this would have served as an ideal follow up to Colony. It shows the band is top form and possibly playing the most aggressive material they have in quite sometime.

Now when I say it’s aggressive, don’t think along the lines of blast beat or just straight up Gotherburg melodic death metal either. They haven’t abandoned any of the progressions they’ve gone through with the last few albums. Melodic choruses are here in droves, and the small electronic influence is still present as well. That said however, some riffs are just total thrash style, while some even have me thinking along the lines of hardcore. It’s not really the typical melodic riff just played a whole lot faster style of song writing. They do have a song or two that have the more typical style of Swedish death metal, but it’s mixed up with the bands new sense for adventuresses songwriting. So even if you think a song may start off with a more typical sounding In Flames riff you really don’t know where it’ll lead to.

A lot of people were saying that the band was interjecting a bit of the newer metal sound into the last album, and I suppose the influence is still present. I’d almost say that the more groove oriented riffs almost remind me more of hardcore at times though. They definitely aren’t what you’d hear being played by Korn or anything like that. If you are hearing that In Flames have turned nu-metal, nothing could be further from the truth. Yes, they have changed a bit, but only a bit. It still sounds exactly like In Flames, they just add a groove here and there.

Well, this is an In Flames album so I don’t think I really need to go into any detail about the production of the album. It’s tight and sounds amazing. I think it might possibly be their best sounding album yet. For some reason it doesn’t sound as layered in some parts. But when they do layer the guitars on it sounds like a symphony of guitars. Some of the choruses just sound downright gigantic. It really helps bring out the vocal melodies and makes the choruses even more memorable.

This album shows the new evolutionary step for In Flames and I would definitely say it’s a step in the right direction. Few bands in metal manage to progress and still retain a lot of their core sounds. Not many bands can say that especially with as many albums under their belts as In Flames has.

Inhumate-Life
(Grind Your Soul, 2004)

I’m a sucker for grindcore, it’s that simple. This latest album from Inhumate shows the band bashing their way through 16 fast and memorable grindcore songs that show off more then just a little hardcore punk influence at times I’d say that maybe it’s a bit like a combination of Napalm Death and Brutal Truth but a bit groovier then either. Both bands never had as many straight ahead hardcore parts as well.

Compared to previous releases this is definitely the tightest that Inhumate have ever been. The songwriting is energetic and no riff is wasted as the songs flow tremendously well. It’s easy enough to string together four blasting riffs and call it a song, but Inhumate puts a lot more thought into the process then that. While the band does blast a lot, there are a great deal of tempo changes. Like I mentioned earlier the band does use a lot of groove at times. Don’t take that the wrong way and think they are playing music you can dance to. By groove I mainly mean slower, and more accented.

Production wise this is also a big step for the band in my opinion. This is one of the clearest grindcore productions I have ever heard in my life. The guitars are heavy and clear, and even with the insane blasting and growling on top you can still hear what the guitar is doing. It’s a decipherable whirlwind if you will. They manage to fit a lot of energy into the albums sound and this comes across as being played by a band with a lot of conviction. It does have a live sound to it, but it also does have a coat of studio sheen as well. It’s far from being overproduced, but definitely is one of the best grindcore productions I’ve ever heard.

Lyrically this continues in the bands continuing them of life. I have to say that while it seems like an odd theme for a series of albums, once you actually read the lyrics it makes for a very original lyrical style. Most of these songs are about every day things and aren’t typical of the grindcore genre. There’s even one song thanking all of the women that are into the grindcore genre. Like I said these aren’t typical lyrics at all. I mean, honestly you can’t understand a damn word the singer says, but they definitely are interesting lyrics.

Inhumate have been doing this for quite a few years now and only keep improving with time. For those of you into grindcore that shows off a punk influence at times, it doesn’t get much better then Inhumate!

Insomnium- Since the Day it All Came Down
(Candlelight USA, 2004)

There was a time when the Gothenburg sound was taking over almost the entire metal scene. I guess it’s safe to say that it has died down considerably and the bands that remain have taken that sound, added elements of their own and are creating melodic yet memorable metal. Insomnium would fit into this category. It’s not hard to hear that Dark Tranquility was a big influence on the bands sound, but they have added many new elements, and this definitely isn’t just another retread of Swedish sounding death metal.

What Insomnium brings to the genre is a general knack for thinking outside of the box. There are typical moments of melodic riffing and thrashy drum beats, but there is a lot of atmosphere to the bands sound. You’ll find lots of acoustic guitars, somber passages and even some spoken vocals. I guess you could almost call it a progressive approach to Swedish death metal. At times it almost reminds me Opeth as well, but more so because of the approach then the actual musical output of the band. If you are expecting an all out assault of speed and screaming vocals you’ll definitely be disappointed. If however you are looking for a well written, and ambitious album, you’ve just found it.

I think the vocals really help these guys stand out as well. They aren’t the typical screechy voice, instead they use a more guttural approach. It’s not exactly gurgling death metal guttural, but it’s still very deep and powerful. The vocal approach is interested and varied on this album. Sometimes it’s a as simple as just using different degrees of growling, or the very dynamics building spoken word sections. This album is as interesting vocally, as it is musically. That’s not really something you say very often with metal albums these days.

Like I said earlier is you are looking for a well written and ambitious album, this is an album you’ll definitely want to check out. In a time when a lot of bands like staying within the comfort zone, it’s nice to see someone breaking out of that zone. More bands need to realize that even if you are playing metal, you don’t need to be playing 2000 mph for an entire album.