Puppies_On_Acid: Moonsorrow - Verisäkeet
I expected this to be a badly produced black metal, like I usually do, but instead this is a pretty fun record with a different folk themes under the guitar lines and relentless growls. This reminds of me a more laid back Ensiferum, except it's not really laid back for too often, is it? I distinctintly remember the moments where blast beats kick in, and sometimes the singer is just mindlessly screaming things, but whenever the music is back up by a folk melody, preferably played on string instruments, I enjoy it. Needless to say, my favourite moments are actually acoustic ones, but there is a lot of good heavier stuff too—Haaska is probably my favourite in that regard with that angry screaming chorus.
What I didn't enjoy is that the album blurs together for me. Probably four listens isn't enough—especially since I fell asleep during my second listen on Monday morning commute—but the fact is there are only five songs, and four of them have at least few different sections. In the middle of Pimea I feel I'm already tired of the record a bit, and that's only 35 minutes in. The acoustic sections draw my attention back, but it's difficult to stay alert until the very end of Jotunheim, when acoustic Kaiku finally kicks in. I guess some transitions could also be better, and I wish they added more cleans to the music—perhaps I'm just oversaturated with growls because of this roulette, but I think some songs needed some more cleans to go along with acoustic sections, perhaps.
All in all, surprisingly, I liked it. This album does an admirable job of creating the epic atmosphere laced with folk melodies and pours a heavy dose of growls all over it, and it keeps doing that for the whole 70 minutes (well, maybe excluding the last track). I never wanted to skip any of it, and while my attention may have wandered in the second half a few times, this was enjoyable enough that I may return to this album in the future.
7/10
TAC: The Reticent - On the Eve of a Goodbye
I expected this to be polished prog metal concept album—speaking of which, I remember you said you were saving Daydream XI for this round too, do you just plan send concept albums until you win?—but this is, in fact, a bit raw and yet very technical in places, and these growls are even more aggressive than on Moonsorrow. This album keeps a good balance between cleans and growls, in my opinion, showcasing it early with The Girl Broken. I'm a bit disappointed this isn't a full-cleans concept album like Mercy Falls or The Old Man and the Spirit, but this still kept my curiosity peaked—although, like with Moonsorrow, I fell asleep during my third listen on my Monday evening commute. I really should just sleep more, guys.
Once again, I feel the album reaches its peaks with quiet and atmospheric sections, and I like the singer (is there one or more?) when he's not trying to be technical or cookie monster, but when he's singing emotionally, whether in the beginning of the album ("and I dutifully wait" on The Hypocrite, I think?) or in the grand climax ("you don't have to do this" on The Decision). But I mostly—mostly—like the contrast between softer and heavier sections, although I must say, sometimes it's a bit overdone (The Postscript is a song I outright dislike). I like sudden appearances of instruments like a freaking saxophone on The Confrontation, too. There's a lot I like, actually. I think the whole ending from 2 Hours Left to the end is pretty brilliant.
What can I say, man, I'm a sucker for concept albums. Even with one song and a few other sections I don't like, this was more interesting than Moonsorrow. This is ambitious and mostly well done, and I will definitely return to this album in the future, I think it will happen pretty soon too. I don't think I can take too much of prog metal like that—it's definitely too heavy in some places for my tastes—but when they go emotional, or when they strike that perfect balance between cleans and growls, this is when this album shines. In fact after four listens I'm surprised how much I like it, and I think it may grow on me even more.
8/10 (closer to 7.75, but eh, let's call it an eight)
TAC 1 : 0 Puppies
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Topic: Evermind's Third Roulette v. Final Round Results (Read 71904 times)
