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August 29, 2008 |
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01. Dark Clouds Gathering
02. Last Line Of Defence
03. Burial Waters. Deepsome Graves
04. Swift Turns Of War
05. The Stale Drownings
06. Battlespawn
07. Where Night Is Total
08. Sealer Of Fates
09. The Blunted Weapon
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Hey, it's another Gothenburg-style Death Metal band! TORCHBEARER bring nothing new to the sound, but proudly tread a path well-traveled, and shred it well. This is essentially a tribute to DARK TRANQUILLITY, although not quite as polished. That isn't to say that TORCHBEARER don't know what they're doing; they just prefer a more brutal assault rather than the sophisticated dynamics of DARK TRANQUILLITY's best work.
The drum Blitzkrieg is what really sets them apart from being just another copycat band. Drummer Henrik Schönström is absolutely insane, pummeling away while still maintaining a groove through most of the songs. In fact, the drums sometimes lead the melody, like on "Burial Waters, Deepsome Graves" (probably the best song on display), where both the guitars and corrals match up to the drumbeat, creating an intimidating march of doom.
Otherwise, this is fairly standard stuff. The guitars have that "WE ARE EVIL!" sound (one of the guitarists handles vocal duties in Scar Symmetry, a far superior band), and the growling is slightly more guttural than the Anders Fridén/Mikael Stanne school of vocal shredding, but not by much.
There are a few surprises, like the MIDNIGHT SYNDICATE-sounding instrumental, "The Stale Drownings." "Battlespawn" contains some inspired virtuoso guitar work, a nice change from the more reined-in first half of the album. Closer "The Blunted Weapon" even has DREAM THEATER keyboards, which may indicate some latent Prog Rock desires.
Actually, backing up that indication is the fact that this is supposed to be a concept album, but damned if I can understand the words enough to talk about that part. I'm going to make a wild guess and say that it probably involves death and war.
If you like slightly more brutal Gothenburg-style Death, and you're tired of waiting for a new DARK TRANQUILLITY album, check this out. Otherwise, don't.
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