Hallelujah! This is a compilation worth getting. It even beats the Northern Lights compilation put out by Rowe Production. (However I still love Antestor the most!) This compilation comprises of 7 bands ranging from Melodic to Black to Death Metal. The bands includes Immortal Souls, Mordecai, Deuteronomium, Cruciferae, Hallowed, Scream and lastly Manifestium. This is a must have album for all who are into the death/black metal or people who are simply into brutal stuff. 1 thing to note is that this compilation has good production, not the usual crappy production that most metal bands have.
Immortal Souls - "Snow Soul" and "I Am Me"
"Snow Soul" - This is the best track(and my fav track) on the entire compilation. The opening riffs and the slow bass drums sets the tone for this song. A unearthly growl brings in the heavier guitar and the drumming becomes more intense. Slow to almost a halt but picks up immediately with shrill guitars and the ghastly shrill shriek ushers us into the essence of this song. The finely executed drumming along with the extremely ultra fast riffs and 1 of the meanest shriek vocalist got my attention fully when I played this. This song will get EVERYONE who is into metal headbanging and moving their feet together with this masterpiece which I know will be a standard for future metal bands. It slows down towards the end before fading into obscurity.
"I Am Me" - Continues the impact that Immortal Souls will have on you. This band really captivated me. But this song is quite mid-paced IMO. Although this song is slower it isn't any pound weaker. This track shows Immortal Souls using growled vocals, however I find that their growled vocals sounds a little hollow. It doesn't pack the punch like Steve Rowe, Andrew Thompkins' growls possess. This song is just average. But keep a look out for this band. They will go a long long way if they continue to write great stuff like "Snow Soul".
Manifestium - "Soul Serene" and "Elysian Tears"
"Soul Serene" - Starts off with atmospheric keyboards and heavy guitars. The vocalist alternate between growled, shrill styles with a occasional whispered spoken part, which I really gotta admit he has my utmost respect. This band is a band worth keeping an eye on. You can hear a slight accent during the spoken parts, but it sounds quite kewl. They play with a solo in between. Slow(ish) but not doom, slightly sludge is the way best to describe their style. Very interesting sound, hey this is European stuff. I've always had faith in bands from the cold wintery European countries.
"Elysian Tears" - A forced cry 'Elysian Tears' starts it up. Heavily distorted guitars riffs with the vocals again alternating between growls and shrieks. This song slows down after about 1.30 min with all spoken parts during it. Gets back on track with the sludge style of playing and the sung portion does sound like chants to the untrained ear. It gets faster and faster towards the end. and slows down with a lead guitar heading the way for the rhythm section. I can't really fully describe this track.
Deuteronomium - "Abortion" and "Spell of Hell"
"Abortion" - Really really low tuned guitar and the vocals sounds so gutteral, and on parts use the usual death growl that I like them for. The gutteral parts are really low like Metanoia's vocalist. Nowadays I am not really into those kind of vocals. I rather like singing(yeah power metal) or the usual death vocals. So thank God for the death vocals part. Really heavy bombastic riffs dominate this track without slowing down. The heaviness goes all the way. But Deuteronomium has the knack of making such heavy tunes but the music will wanna make you move with it.
"Spell Of Hell" - Starts off with atmospheric keyboard/piano with short marching drum style...I would expect a instrumental for this, but wait...what's this??? It becomes a real crazy and intense black metal song. what else can Miika do with his vocal cords?!! Melodic black metal unlike the melodic black metal which focus on keyboards..this melodic track focus on the melodic(and real heavy) guitars. It slows down after some parts for sometime before reverting into the heavy and very intense riffs whichs fades out!!! Killer track! (Haha in anycase the review for Spell Of Hell sounds familiar, it's because it from my review of Street Corner Queen!)
Mordecai
"Dawn Eternal" - The only 100% black metal band on this compilation. No influence from doom(which I think is really cool) or death. But black metal all the way. Starting with twin classical guitars makes this sound like it should be on a classical music CD rather than on a metal compilation. But the extreme electric guitars. They play a form of new school black metal but without the keyboards. The vocals are the in the true black metal vein. The shriek is without influence from other style like death(which is common of metal bands), and alternately it switches to chant-like singing(which is really kewl). They arn't the 100 km/h band but rather they skill fully wieve the intensity of old school black with the supposed atmospheric of the new school black metal bands but they do it without the help of keyboards. Which is very quite impressive. Look out for their upcoming split album with Immortal Souls coming on Jan 99.
Scream - "Spending Time" and "If I Could Be"
"Spending Time" - How can I put this. I know this is a metal track, but it don't fit in with the above bands on this compilation. After listening to the first 6 tracks, one will think that this is a extreme metal compilation. But Scream is more like general metal category. Don't misunderstand they are not lousy but rather quite impressive after a few listens(okie I admit that I thought they suck after the first listen). Meaty(?) riffs lets us know that they arn't a tad weaker than the above bands. Different styles - yes, weaker - no. But the vocal sounds a little 'forced-out' other than on the chorus, which will make people that the vocalist is quite fake. But the guitar solo after 2.30min is really kewl. They have a great sense of song-writing especially that lick. But if only they will make the vocals a little more intense. I don't mean by death/black style. But rather more intense singing. The riffs are really good here. They try their hand on playing sludge kinda guitars at the end of the track. Quite successful IMO. "If I Could Be" - If someone listen to this, they will understand what I mean by their vocals are very 'forced-out' and not intense or emotional enough. The vocalist tries to be emotional but it just doesn't kick maybe if he tried to be a little softer on the singing. But this track is quite fine musically. A ballad with plucking and bass being the focus. Slow drumming. But the vocals(surprise surprise) sounds quite good on the chorus ""If I could live like, those little children". The guitar lick at about 3.30 min makes this a good listen.
Hallowed - "The Prodigal Son" and "Storm"
"The Prodigal Son" - Wow heavy melodic metal. This kinda neo-classical/power/melodic are the genre of metal that I listen to most nowadays. But the vocalist for this band sucks. BIG TIME. Sorry for that comment. It's very nasal and I mean VERY nasal, very weak vocal styles, no strength/power in the voice at all. It's sad to have this sort of high quality music but have to compromise with a vocalist of such calibre. But I have to be honest it's either 1-Change vocalist or 2-Practise Practise Practise the vocals. The vocalist is also the rhythm guitarist. If worse comes to worse add in a 6th member as a pure vocalist. It works for bands such as Impellitteri, Hammerfall, guitarist such as Yngwie Malmsteen. This song has the great power chords that this genre is famous for. It makes your feet move with the music. The solos are really great, although it's slow, it's very soulful and has the special feel in it.
"Storm" - Power chords dominate this song with the great licks once again. And this song has a great bass solo churned out(wow) somewhere in the middle. I haven't really listen to such bass playing outside my church(my church bassist is a girl). But the vocalist kills the thrill of the music.
Cruciferae - "Wastelands" and "Man Of Sorrow"
"Wastelands" - This was a band which I have heard a long time ago along with Deuteronomium. I've always imagined that they played in the same style as Deuteronomium. I heard Deuteronomium first because they released an album first. But I was wrong about Cruciferae. They play a form of black/doom hybrid quite unlike what I thought they will play. Plucking open this song. The drums slowly but steadily creeps into the song until the really extreme guitars kicks in the feel of the song. They use the black metal style of vocals but this has a little death influence in it IMO. Their singing is also quite chant-like which I think is really kewl. They sound very good, but why still not album deals with any labels?(hint hint Little Rose Productions). The spoken part sound like a gasp along with intensity being a part of it. Their playing is really good, with the lead guitar throwing in licks here and there.
"Man Of Sorrows" - The longest song on this album clocking at 7 mins. Heavy, I mean really heavy riffs that will tear someone's mind apart has it's place here. 1 of the gems of this compilation. Listen to it on the sound page. All the brutality gives way to the bass after 2 mins. Which is quite ok if it didn't last so long. But it gets back on track with the heaviness of the dominating riffs. After the short guitar solo, the sludge influence comes in, slow paced with the chant-like vocals, telling us that Jesus will 1 day come back and take His children home. The classical piano creeps in so quietly that I didn't know when did it come in. It end with a superb classical piece on the piano.
7.5/10
Other coverage for this album
HM Magazine #75Reviewed by Brian Vincent McGovernThis Finnish Metal Compilation brings to these shores the best of the hard music that this country is known for. The death/unblack - sometimes gothic-influenced - metal of Immortal Souls screams of high grade musicianship and quality production. Manifestum also impressed me with their creative textures, keys laying a smooth foundation for the variety-conscious vocals (which are sometimes similar…The Phantom Tollbooth 1999Reviewed by Josh SpencerLooks like Finland's Little Rose Productions is taking up the torch once born by the likes of Pure Metal, Intense, and Rowe Productions, as the forerunners of quality Christian metal. Except now the bearers of the metal flame are pale, grim-faced, and hurried as they explore chill caverns and traverse lands where grey storms scrape the sky. The phrase "From Kaamos to Midnight Sun" is a reference…
