 |
|
October 8, 2008 |
 |
|
 |
 |
|
NORTHER - Death Unlimited
Spinefarm (2004) |
9/10 |
|
|
|
|
|
01. Nightfall (Intro)
02. Deep Inside
03. Death Unlimited
04. Chasm
05. Vain
06. A Fallen Star
07. The Cure
08. Day Of Redemption
09. Beneath (Instrumental)
10. Hollow
11. Nothing
12. Going Nowhere
|
|
Ah...Finland! Land of reindeer, snow, saunas, high suicide rates and what seems to be an impossibly bottomless well of incredible musicians! I mean these guys have given us AMORPHIS, MOONSORROW, ENSIFERUM, CHILDREN OF BODOM, IMPALED NAZARENE, NIGHTWISH...Hell, even HANOI ROCKS! And that's just off the top of my head. I don't know what it is about this country that results in such a wide and diverse range of Metallic talent. Is it the obscene amounts of Lapin Kulta beer they guzzle there? The surplus of beautiful blondes? The sombre and inspiring winter landscapes? Who knows? Suffice to say though that there's now a new kid in town with NORTHER, and the gauntlet has once again been thrown with the arrival of their latest release, 'Death Unlimited'.
Already two albums into their career ( 'Dreams of Endless War' and 'Mirror of Madness') NORTHER create a brand of dazzling Speed/Melodic Death Metal that has often been compared to CHILDREN OF BODOM - unfortunately to the band's detriment - as cries of 'blatant ripoff' and 'copycat' have been the norm. Well, this third album should prove to be the charm! While there are certainly still obvious stylistic comparisons to Laiho and Co.'s work, I daresay that with one listen to 'Death Unlimited', the band's naysayers will be left speechless with jaws hanging agape, for this is a band who are out for blood! To put it bluntly, this album blew my head off!
Along with the expected BODOMish neo-classicisms and melodic double-lead fury comes a more mature and focused sense of direction. Gone is much of the former bombast-for-bombast's-sake, replaced now with a tighter, sharper sense of structure and riff. Tempos have become more varied, and attention to arrangement is brought to the fore. The sound itself is heavier too with less of a focus on keyboard passages and more on guitars than on previous releases. I mean, this is just tight, tight, TIGHT! Razor sharp Metal with some real weight and hook to it that is bound to make even the most jaded of listeners bang their head in approval. And it truly is something subtle and intangible that is at play here. Something I can't quite put my finger on which sets this head and shoulders above earlier works; a certain drive, or hunger that has finally made itself known.
Just check out the relentless attack of opener 'Deep Inside', the scathing title track, the fantastic 'A Fallen Star', and the leadwork/chorus on personal fave 'Hollow', a track that is so hair-blowing-in-the-wind heroic that I just wanna cry every time I hear it. Easily some of the most stirring leadwork since ENSIFERUM's 'Token of Time'. 'Hollow' is perhaps my current favourite track of the year so far. PERIOD. And that's saying something.
In conclusion, I can only reiterate what a pleasure it is to experience Metal of this calibre. My horned helmet is off to the guys in NORTHER for making such great leaps and bounds in terms of maturing as songwriters and starting to find their collective voice as Metal musicians in a subgenre too often crowded with boring imitation and derivative rehashing of the form. This is a band who have truly hit their creative stride. They can only get better from hereon in and I look forward with great anticipation to their future endeavours.
|
|
|
|
