Band: Love History
Album: Anasazi
I've been going through my vast collection of "as-of-yet-unlistened-to" metal discs, and I came upon Love History. My first reaction was "What the [heck] is this? And when did I buy it?" Then I popped it in, and to say I was pleasantly surpised would be a vast understatement. What burst forth from the speakers was a very-surreal, sometimes maniacally driving force of gloomy death metal, and often beautifully crafted song. After song. After song.
The album is all over the map, but never really straying far from the Depeche Mode meets In Flames sound they have going on. It's technically precise, right down to the sad guitar wailing and more than adequate rhythm section. In fact, check out "Korbel" to hear just what this band is capable of. It's a absolutely stunning instrumental arrangement that is at once melancholy and powerful. I listened to that particular track about 4 times in a row to capture the full scope of what they were doing. Other bands wouldn't be comfortable being so varied (uh, Cannibal Corpse anyone?), and if you want to see what I mean, get your eardrums to the 4:35 mark of "Angealism" to hear some seriously Metallica-inspired riffing. Other tracks of note: well, ALL of them. There isn't really a weak moment on the disc as far as I was concerned, and this is a classic case of 'boy, Amazon really needs to add 1/2 stars to the rating system' 'cause this baby is easily worth the 4 1/2. I just couldn't bring myself to give it the 5, simply because those are reserved for full-on masterpieces.
And lastly, for those wondering, the vocals are a perfect mix of full-on throaty death growl, and extremely gothic crooning along the lines of the best of My Dying Bride, Sisters of Mercy or the aforementioned Depeche Mode. If I have but one complaint, it's that I can't seem to find any more music by these Czechs! What's up with that? [ed. note: I've since found another album...yay!
]
Score: 8.5
Album: Anasazi
I've been going through my vast collection of "as-of-yet-unlistened-to" metal discs, and I came upon Love History. My first reaction was "What the [heck] is this? And when did I buy it?" Then I popped it in, and to say I was pleasantly surpised would be a vast understatement. What burst forth from the speakers was a very-surreal, sometimes maniacally driving force of gloomy death metal, and often beautifully crafted song. After song. After song.
The album is all over the map, but never really straying far from the Depeche Mode meets In Flames sound they have going on. It's technically precise, right down to the sad guitar wailing and more than adequate rhythm section. In fact, check out "Korbel" to hear just what this band is capable of. It's a absolutely stunning instrumental arrangement that is at once melancholy and powerful. I listened to that particular track about 4 times in a row to capture the full scope of what they were doing. Other bands wouldn't be comfortable being so varied (uh, Cannibal Corpse anyone?), and if you want to see what I mean, get your eardrums to the 4:35 mark of "Angealism" to hear some seriously Metallica-inspired riffing. Other tracks of note: well, ALL of them. There isn't really a weak moment on the disc as far as I was concerned, and this is a classic case of 'boy, Amazon really needs to add 1/2 stars to the rating system' 'cause this baby is easily worth the 4 1/2. I just couldn't bring myself to give it the 5, simply because those are reserved for full-on masterpieces.
And lastly, for those wondering, the vocals are a perfect mix of full-on throaty death growl, and extremely gothic crooning along the lines of the best of My Dying Bride, Sisters of Mercy or the aforementioned Depeche Mode. If I have but one complaint, it's that I can't seem to find any more music by these Czechs! What's up with that? [ed. note: I've since found another album...yay!
]Score: 8.5
