Fall Of The Leafe - Volvere
Rage Of Achilles - ILIAD052 - 2004
By Philip Whitehouse
Okay, I'll come clean. I've never heard of these guys before. After some preliminary research, I've discovered little more than the facts that they're from Finland, this is their fourth album, and they're not particularly well known because their previous three albums were released on teeny-tiny independant labels. From this, I can draw a couple of conclusions. Firstly, if I get on their good side and make contact, they could possibly be convinced to aid me in my plan to rid the world of their countrymen, HIM and The Rasmus. Secondly, as this is their debut album for a larger European label, they probably gave this disc their all.
The second conclusion seems accurate, at least - Volvere is an immensely involving and satisfying slab of melancholic gothic rock tinged with grungey chunkiness, melodic metal spice and folk-inflected hooks. Try to imagine Alice In Chains playing Fields Of The Nephilim covers that have been rearranged by latter-day Amorphis - a terrible simile, I know, but it's the closest I can come to easily getting across the atmospheres involved within. The powerful production lends the heavier moments such as the punchy 'Enemy Simulator' some genuine kick, while the sound is also spacious enough to incorporate the atmospheric keyboards and clean guitar leads that shimmer with folky jauntiness and melodicism.
The singer's clean singing style occasionally gives way to more aggressive shouts and growls, but generally he stays with the melodic, full tone which sits perfectly within the songs. Unfortunately, the album can sound a little samey from time to time, staying as it does firmly within the mid-tempo range - but this could be more due a sort of stylistic unity and thematic continuity within the album rather than a paucity of ideas. Each song is distinct in some way from those that came before, but taken as a whole the album lacks sturm und drang. However, this doesn't dramatically detract from what is an entertaining and compelling listen.
7/10
Official Fall Of The Leafe website
Rage Of Achilles website
Rage Of Achilles - ILIAD052 - 2004
By Philip Whitehouse
Okay, I'll come clean. I've never heard of these guys before. After some preliminary research, I've discovered little more than the facts that they're from Finland, this is their fourth album, and they're not particularly well known because their previous three albums were released on teeny-tiny independant labels. From this, I can draw a couple of conclusions. Firstly, if I get on their good side and make contact, they could possibly be convinced to aid me in my plan to rid the world of their countrymen, HIM and The Rasmus. Secondly, as this is their debut album for a larger European label, they probably gave this disc their all.
The second conclusion seems accurate, at least - Volvere is an immensely involving and satisfying slab of melancholic gothic rock tinged with grungey chunkiness, melodic metal spice and folk-inflected hooks. Try to imagine Alice In Chains playing Fields Of The Nephilim covers that have been rearranged by latter-day Amorphis - a terrible simile, I know, but it's the closest I can come to easily getting across the atmospheres involved within. The powerful production lends the heavier moments such as the punchy 'Enemy Simulator' some genuine kick, while the sound is also spacious enough to incorporate the atmospheric keyboards and clean guitar leads that shimmer with folky jauntiness and melodicism.
The singer's clean singing style occasionally gives way to more aggressive shouts and growls, but generally he stays with the melodic, full tone which sits perfectly within the songs. Unfortunately, the album can sound a little samey from time to time, staying as it does firmly within the mid-tempo range - but this could be more due a sort of stylistic unity and thematic continuity within the album rather than a paucity of ideas. Each song is distinct in some way from those that came before, but taken as a whole the album lacks sturm und drang. However, this doesn't dramatically detract from what is an entertaining and compelling listen.
7/10
Official Fall Of The Leafe website
Rage Of Achilles website
