Allfader – At Least We Will Die Together
2006, Osmose Productions
By Katalin Sipos
I was completely unfamiliar with this Norwegian band when the promo arrived in my mailbox. The press release said they play brutal, melodic, dark metal, and I expected something similar to Sentenced but heavier. Immediately after the first listen, however, I knew I would never compare them to Sentenced in any way.
Allfader was formed in 2001 as a two-man project, and this is their first full-length work; they only issued an MCD, From the Darkest Star, previously. Their music is a mixture of black and death metal with melodic, epic heavy metal parts. I would say it’s relentless death metal, heavily influenced by black metal. Sometimes closer to brutal or melodic when it comes to death metal, they keep switching between the two styles. The fast songs demonstrate shrieking or growling vocals, thrilling guitar lines, tight drumming. The songwriting is well-done; the band try to keep tracks varied, and the melodic choruses, solos and epic heavy metal parts are supposed to make the music more interesting. I really have to make a special note about the vocals. John Erik Andersen did a great job, he is using his voice over a wide range, from death metal grunts via normal singing to high-pitched screams.
So it sounds like everything is in its place. But in fact the mellower musical arrangements give a confused feeling to the songs instead. And though the overall impression is massive, heavy and energetic, something is missing. Nothing on this album grabs me and make me want to listen to it again. Sadly the melodic parts in This Blackened Heart and Into Nothingness even want me to quit listening. The former because I can visualize warriors on horseback, latter because I wanna scream the name of a well-known thrash metal band as it kicks off.
I know it is the music that matters, but I enjoy when a cover picture fits the music on an album. Take a look at to their cover and tell me what kind of band would you imagine they are? My choice would be metalcore or modern thrash metal. In short, it does not fit their musical concept. But, of course, the music is the relevant issue. It just does not work for me. I can see all the effort and work they put into this album, and it is really not bad for a newcomer, but they could not pique my interest. Hopefully next time we will have more luck with each other...
Official All Fader website
Official Osmose Productions website
2006, Osmose Productions
By Katalin Sipos
I was completely unfamiliar with this Norwegian band when the promo arrived in my mailbox. The press release said they play brutal, melodic, dark metal, and I expected something similar to Sentenced but heavier. Immediately after the first listen, however, I knew I would never compare them to Sentenced in any way.
Allfader was formed in 2001 as a two-man project, and this is their first full-length work; they only issued an MCD, From the Darkest Star, previously. Their music is a mixture of black and death metal with melodic, epic heavy metal parts. I would say it’s relentless death metal, heavily influenced by black metal. Sometimes closer to brutal or melodic when it comes to death metal, they keep switching between the two styles. The fast songs demonstrate shrieking or growling vocals, thrilling guitar lines, tight drumming. The songwriting is well-done; the band try to keep tracks varied, and the melodic choruses, solos and epic heavy metal parts are supposed to make the music more interesting. I really have to make a special note about the vocals. John Erik Andersen did a great job, he is using his voice over a wide range, from death metal grunts via normal singing to high-pitched screams.
So it sounds like everything is in its place. But in fact the mellower musical arrangements give a confused feeling to the songs instead. And though the overall impression is massive, heavy and energetic, something is missing. Nothing on this album grabs me and make me want to listen to it again. Sadly the melodic parts in This Blackened Heart and Into Nothingness even want me to quit listening. The former because I can visualize warriors on horseback, latter because I wanna scream the name of a well-known thrash metal band as it kicks off.
I know it is the music that matters, but I enjoy when a cover picture fits the music on an album. Take a look at to their cover and tell me what kind of band would you imagine they are? My choice would be metalcore or modern thrash metal. In short, it does not fit their musical concept. But, of course, the music is the relevant issue. It just does not work for me. I can see all the effort and work they put into this album, and it is really not bad for a newcomer, but they could not pique my interest. Hopefully next time we will have more luck with each other...
Official All Fader website
Official Osmose Productions website
