Ingermanland - "Beyond Equador" ( http://www.digidesign.no/ingermanland/ )
Selfrelease, 2001
Ingermanland is coming from cold and dark parts of Norway, and their name is connected with one tragic story. Ingermanland was a ship, which sunk during a storm in 1842, near norwegian coast. But that's not all, ship crew and passengers were rescued by Norwegian sailors and fishermen. Without them, who knows if there would be any survivors at all! That was something about name itself... Ingermanland, as a band, has recorded two demo-albums so far - "Surface As Ceiling" in 1999. and "Beyond Equator" in 2001, which I am reviewing now. While "Surface As Ceiling" had poor production and sound, "Beyond Equator" is much more better, but with more power/progressive metal elements. Talking about music, it could be defined as power/thrash metal, or if you want a bit detailed, it's a mix of power, prog, death and thrash metal. Progressive metal is featured trough intelligent vocals, complex guitar parts, and especially drums! Ingermanland is one of the few bands that surprised me with their combination of these genres of music, and characteristic melodies. On "Beyond Equator" you will find six long-playing songs and about forty minutes of music. I personally love this kind of songs, because they are overriding 3-minutes-and-few-seconds stereotypes. First song from this album, "Networked Vibrations" is in power/thrash style, with raw guitars, melodic vocals and cold atmosphere that can be created only by bands from Scandinavia. This song reminds me of Nocturnal Rites, so if you like this band, you will definitely find something interesting in here (of course, with more progressive feeling). "Mindware Lost" is similar to previous song, but harder and faster. You can feel a bit of death metal here and there, something like Into Eternity are doing. The next song, "The First Moment", starts with weird guitar intro, slowly morphing into pure hate. You won't feel any emotions directly, but indirectly - like a scorpion sting, with his poison slowly going trough your blood. "Delusion Of Madness" is a bit softer, turning you completely around and gets you a feeling of pure catharsis. "Sleeping With Worms" is being more dynamic and brutal, with powerful thrash metal guitars and brutal drumming. Same can be said for "At Demy Prime", but this time vocals are pushed back, and everything is on the instruments. Music is balanced very good. I'm really surprised with the fact that Ingermanland are still unsigned, because they definitely deserve that! So, if you like Nevermore, Nocturnal Rites, Into Eternity, you must get this band for sure! All the best guys, and keep it up!
8 out of 10 points (By Boris Todorovic)
( copyright: www.scissors.tk )
Selfrelease, 2001
Ingermanland is coming from cold and dark parts of Norway, and their name is connected with one tragic story. Ingermanland was a ship, which sunk during a storm in 1842, near norwegian coast. But that's not all, ship crew and passengers were rescued by Norwegian sailors and fishermen. Without them, who knows if there would be any survivors at all! That was something about name itself... Ingermanland, as a band, has recorded two demo-albums so far - "Surface As Ceiling" in 1999. and "Beyond Equator" in 2001, which I am reviewing now. While "Surface As Ceiling" had poor production and sound, "Beyond Equator" is much more better, but with more power/progressive metal elements. Talking about music, it could be defined as power/thrash metal, or if you want a bit detailed, it's a mix of power, prog, death and thrash metal. Progressive metal is featured trough intelligent vocals, complex guitar parts, and especially drums! Ingermanland is one of the few bands that surprised me with their combination of these genres of music, and characteristic melodies. On "Beyond Equator" you will find six long-playing songs and about forty minutes of music. I personally love this kind of songs, because they are overriding 3-minutes-and-few-seconds stereotypes. First song from this album, "Networked Vibrations" is in power/thrash style, with raw guitars, melodic vocals and cold atmosphere that can be created only by bands from Scandinavia. This song reminds me of Nocturnal Rites, so if you like this band, you will definitely find something interesting in here (of course, with more progressive feeling). "Mindware Lost" is similar to previous song, but harder and faster. You can feel a bit of death metal here and there, something like Into Eternity are doing. The next song, "The First Moment", starts with weird guitar intro, slowly morphing into pure hate. You won't feel any emotions directly, but indirectly - like a scorpion sting, with his poison slowly going trough your blood. "Delusion Of Madness" is a bit softer, turning you completely around and gets you a feeling of pure catharsis. "Sleeping With Worms" is being more dynamic and brutal, with powerful thrash metal guitars and brutal drumming. Same can be said for "At Demy Prime", but this time vocals are pushed back, and everything is on the instruments. Music is balanced very good. I'm really surprised with the fact that Ingermanland are still unsigned, because they definitely deserve that! So, if you like Nevermore, Nocturnal Rites, Into Eternity, you must get this band for sure! All the best guys, and keep it up!
8 out of 10 points (By Boris Todorovic)
( copyright: www.scissors.tk )
