I have said it once before, and I will say it again. Scandinavians have their musical act together. And this disc, put out by Samuel Durling's heavy label Endtime Productions, is no exception to this. Plus, you just have to love the fancy, limited edition digi-pak that it is currently packaged in.
Anaemia blends metal riffs, death vocals, superb musicianship, and incredible musical progressions and melodies, all with the trademark Nordic touch. As far as the music itself goes, it is a bit hard to describe in detail. One thing is for sure, though -- this is metal, and it is heavy. The guitar riffing has an epic feel to it, almost like a cross between progressive, classic doom, and the down-tuned sounds of death metal. There isn't a whole lot of speed riffing here at all (though they can kick it when they need to), but the music remains very heavy throughout. And, at the same time, the music remains melodic, blending epic classic overtones with Nordic folk melodies. The drumming is absolutely incredible -- I never thought a driving double kick-bass could sound so good aside from speed metal, and the drumming in general works very well in all songs. And have I mentioned that the guitar work is simply amazing? It seems like the guitar is changing to something different every few moments, jumping into another riff or lead or progression without warning. The music, in general, is very alive and very complex, captivating the listener. The vocals are of the death type, comprising of both single death vocals and group death vocals. If anything could get old about this CD, it would be the vocal approach. I wouldn't mind there being some variation in the vocal attack, but the incredible musical approach more than makes up for it in my mind.
Do you like death metal and don't mind it being artsy? Do you enjoy listening to melodic walls of sound? Or, plain and simple, do you like very well-played heavy metal? Your answer should be yes to all three questions, and even if it isn't, you should pick up this CD.
Other coverage for this album
Art for the Ears 1999Reviewed by Marco PovervestSome might call this skull-pounding metal. Well, when my skull pounds inside it means I've got a headache! But it's true, my mom gets a headache hearing this music! At least she says so. On The Second Incarnation Anaemia presents nine brutal metal tracks with skillful playing and screaming vocals. This is real metal fury. There is a variety of ideas within each song but these are still well…Dead Zine 1999Reviewed by SORGThis cd was "hyped" to me in various ways so I really didn't know exactly what to expect when it arrived last week. It is most accurately described as "doomy thrash". I was really hoping for a more modern doom sound along the lines of Theatre of Tragedy (with more clear vocals). There are very few clean vocals here, they go mostly for a gruff approach similar to that of Ian Arkley from Ashen…Similar sounding releases
1998DeuteronomiumStreet Corner Queen
2003MortificationPower, Pain & Passion
1996EraseMental Overload
1998NecromanicideHate Regime
1995DeathSymbolic
2005Mercury SwitchTime to Shine
