Review from:
http://enslavedbymetal.com/review.html?reviewid=512
Review of "Harmony of Lies" by Eden's Fall
Strong and powerful metal inspired by Nevermore, Testament, Exodus, Iced Earth etc.
If these bands match your musical antennas, then I advice you to spend some time reading on. Eden's Fall is an American group, and Harmony of Lies is their debut album. None other than Dan Swanö (the name should be familiar for the lot of you) has handled the mixing of the album, and the production of this release just might be the best aspect of it. That doesn't mean that the rest is lacking, far from it, but this production might be the best I've heard since Exodus's Tempo of The Damned. The guitars have exactly the right amount of crunch, and the solid bass provides a dominant and rock hard fundament for the rest of the soundscape.
I have to admit that I struggled quite a bit with this release, as I'm not exactly satisfied with the voice of band boss John Barr. He attempts a mixture between Matthew Barlow's lowest almost growl-sounding whispers, some of Warrel Danes high screams and a distinct clean vocal, whereas only the first mentioned is fairly successful. The remaining of the musicianship however is absolutely top notch, and the band takes the listener through a valley of dark shadows and to peaks of some rather light passages. But firmly placed in the center are the hard hitting, sometimes progressive and very much Nevermore-inspired riffs, who create a stronghold of energy throughout the album. The variation however, is sadly at a minimum. This again brings us back to the lead vocals, who just don't manage to bring the much needed diversity through the lacking of good vocal lines. At times this band actually reminds me quite a bit about both Scariot and Communic, strictly musically.
But where the aforementioned bands manage to create lots of variation and also quite a bit of atmosphere intoa their music, Eden's Fall seems to stand back and leave the dirty work to the listener. The album clocks in on a total of 45 minutes divided between 9 tracks, a fair lenght for this type of music.
I think I can only conclude by saying that I've had quite a good time together with Eden's Fall and their music. But the one problem that still remains for me, is the lead singer. I know that might be a problematic issue to tackle, since it seems that John Barr has quite a solid place in the band's fundament and sound. However, if they plan to take over the throne from Nevermore and the likes, that change (or improvement, there's no secret that people can develop their voices over time) needs to be followed through.
Rating: 70/100
Written by Ole Kristian Mastadøy
http://enslavedbymetal.com/review.html?reviewid=512
Review of "Harmony of Lies" by Eden's Fall
Strong and powerful metal inspired by Nevermore, Testament, Exodus, Iced Earth etc.
If these bands match your musical antennas, then I advice you to spend some time reading on. Eden's Fall is an American group, and Harmony of Lies is their debut album. None other than Dan Swanö (the name should be familiar for the lot of you) has handled the mixing of the album, and the production of this release just might be the best aspect of it. That doesn't mean that the rest is lacking, far from it, but this production might be the best I've heard since Exodus's Tempo of The Damned. The guitars have exactly the right amount of crunch, and the solid bass provides a dominant and rock hard fundament for the rest of the soundscape.
I have to admit that I struggled quite a bit with this release, as I'm not exactly satisfied with the voice of band boss John Barr. He attempts a mixture between Matthew Barlow's lowest almost growl-sounding whispers, some of Warrel Danes high screams and a distinct clean vocal, whereas only the first mentioned is fairly successful. The remaining of the musicianship however is absolutely top notch, and the band takes the listener through a valley of dark shadows and to peaks of some rather light passages. But firmly placed in the center are the hard hitting, sometimes progressive and very much Nevermore-inspired riffs, who create a stronghold of energy throughout the album. The variation however, is sadly at a minimum. This again brings us back to the lead vocals, who just don't manage to bring the much needed diversity through the lacking of good vocal lines. At times this band actually reminds me quite a bit about both Scariot and Communic, strictly musically.
But where the aforementioned bands manage to create lots of variation and also quite a bit of atmosphere intoa their music, Eden's Fall seems to stand back and leave the dirty work to the listener. The album clocks in on a total of 45 minutes divided between 9 tracks, a fair lenght for this type of music.
I think I can only conclude by saying that I've had quite a good time together with Eden's Fall and their music. But the one problem that still remains for me, is the lead singer. I know that might be a problematic issue to tackle, since it seems that John Barr has quite a solid place in the band's fundament and sound. However, if they plan to take over the throne from Nevermore and the likes, that change (or improvement, there's no secret that people can develop their voices over time) needs to be followed through.
Rating: 70/100
Written by Ole Kristian Mastadøy
