In Flames – Page 6 – Wonderbox Metal

Your Last Wish – Desolation (Review)

Canadian band Your Last Wish play Melodic Death Metal.

After the usual perfunctory opening, first track proper Crisis To Creation opens with a much more impressive dual display of melodics slipping into heavy chugs, repeating over and over until the appetite is well and truly whetted.

Their brand of Melodic Death Metal is fast and sharp, which matches the high-pitched screams of the vocalist who has a rasp to challenge the best of them, although she also does deeper vocals when required.

A starting reference point for this album would be someone like At The Gates or early In Flames. These are only as reference points though as Your Last Wish are not merely wishing to repeat past glories of the masters. They have something of their own to offer.

The riffs are enjoyable and substantial and the crisp, professional sound makes the most of them. Well played solos pour out of the tracks, the vocals are scathing and the drummer provides a backdrop to the carnage.

This is the kind of Melodic Death Metal that they rarely make any more. There is no pretension or leanings of commerciality; no clean harmonies of radio-friendly compromises. This is Metal through and through, and I for one can’t help but like this very talented band.

Give them a listen and give them your support.

Frozen Hell – Rise! (Review)

Italian band Frozen Hell play Melodic Death Metal and this is their first release.

This EP is of the Gothenburg, early In Flames-style of Melodic Death Metal and the band play tribute to this era with six tracks of Old-School melodicism.

The vocals have some bite and are performed well, with deeper and not so deep raspings and growls; it’s good.

Recording-wise the vocals and drums have really nice organic sound to them that’s very pleasing to the ear. The guitars and bass however sound slightly muted and could really do with some extra punch to bring them to life.

Also included as a seventh track is an Amon Amarth cover The Pursuit of Death, which is a medley combining The Pursuit of Vikings and Death in Fire.

Not too bad for a début release; if they can come back with a full album with a better production and a bit more refined songsmithing then they could be on to something.

Joyless Jokers – Taste of Victory (Review)

Joyless Jokers play Melodic Death Metal with the odd atmospheric flourish and the right amount of aggression and bite.

These days the term Melodic Death Metal can sometimes evoke images of wannabe stadium-fillers all Hell-bent on copying In Flames, et al, but here it is played in its purest form – Death Metal that is full of melody! This is more aggressive and more Metal than most bands of the aforementioned ilk and there are no clean vocals busting out into anthemic choruses on this album.

What we get is well-written/recorded/played Metal with a strong vocalist who keeps the intensity up all the way through. He is backed by a very-able band who perform with gusto. Melodic leads; heavy riffs; keyboard and classical flourishes, (nicely understated); and a strong rhythm section that keeps everything together; these are the things that keep you returning for another listen.

I enjoyed this much more than I was expecting to, (cynic that I am!), and was pleasantly surprised by the content and quality this album shows. This is the perfect release for people looking for something more melodic, but aren’t interested in something overly-commercial. Victory tastes good.

Sapiency – Tomorrow (Review)

Sapiency play modern melodic Thrash Metal. I don’t listen to a lot of this style of music as there is a huge amount of mediocrity out there – it seems to be that writing okay music in this style is quite easy, but being truly great is rare.

Their style is similar to bands such as Scar Symmetry, In Flames, Soilwork, etc. – the gruff vocals juxtaposed against the clean, huge soaring guitars and keyboards, epic melodies and punchy drums, etc. Although Sapiency don’t hit the heights of the truly great, they are certainly a cut above the mediocre, and dare I say it this is quite an exciting and enjoyable release.

Having more bite to their attack than a lot of the typical In Flames/Soilwork clones, (which they aren’t), certainly works in their favour. The gruff vocals are a bit harsher than the norm, and the clean vocals a bit more powerful. They dwell on the right side of catchy rather than sounding ‘pop’. The guitars are not watered down and actually have some meat to the riffs rather than just being there to accentuate the vocals, which seems to be a usual failing of certain bands in this genre. In fact, Sapiency are less In Flames/Soilwork and more Scar Symmetry/Dark Tranquillity – heavier and less polished, (relatively speaking of course), than their more commercial kin. Some would say ‘more metal’. Here we even have the occasional blastbeat, which is always welcome. Solos too. It’s good that they are not afraid of speed either; it’s too easy for bands in this genre to lose interest across an album as every song has the same mid-paced tempo, speed and feeling.

Albums like this live or die by their songs and Sapiency have these; energy and catchiness, wrapped up and delivered as molten melodic metal. It’s hard not to feel the enthusiasm inherent in these tracks. There is a genuine love of metal on display here and it exhibits itself in every track and imbues them with a vitality that is otherwise missing in so many catchier bands.

I enjoyed Sapiency more than I thought I would; which is a reminder that it’s far to easy to feel jaded and cynical these days and every band should be judged on their individual merits. A class album – if you enjoy melody with your metal then check them out.