Insomnium

Noumena – Death Walks With Me Review

Noumena – Death Walks With Me Review

By Steel Druhm on April 3, 2013 in 2013, 3.5, Death Metal, Finnish Metal, Haunted Zoo Productions, Melodic Death Metal, Reviews, Death Metal, Melodic Death Metal, 19 comments

“Steel Druhm has been banging the drum for little known Finnish act Noumena for quite some time. Ever since stumbling on them, I’ve been a huge fan of their brand of morose, melodic death and I spin their Absence and Anatomy of Life albums all the damn time at Casa de Steelo. In fact, I think Anatomy of Life stands as one of the finest examples of melo-death every recorded. It had all the quintessentially Finnish “dead puppy under the Christmas tree” melancholy you’ve come to expect from countrymen Insomnium, Omnium Gatherum and Rapture, mixed with the guitar wizardry of early In Flames and rounded out with haunting female vocals (and winning guest vocals from Tuomas Tuominen of Fall of the Leafe/Man-Eating Trees to boot).” If you like Finnish melo-death (and you should), you had best join Steel Druhm’s drum circle as he sings the praises of this long overlooked band.

Six Feet Under – Unborn Review

Six Feet Under – Unborn Review

By Steel Druhm on March 7, 2013 in 2013, 3.0, American Metal, Death Metal, Metal Blade, Reviews, Death Metal, 11 comments

“Having never been a supporter of Six Feet Under and their caveman, cartoonish take on death metal, I was pleasantly surprised by the quality of a few songs on their 2012 album Undead. While the album as a whole was still pretty rancid, there were telltale signs of a band maturing a bit (finally). When I heard they had line up changes, but still had another album ready less than a year out from Undead, it didn’t bode well in my mind for continued maturation. When, it shows what I know, because Unborn is a shockingly big step forward for these guys in terms of writing, playing and all things death related.” Steel Druhm has been mighty harsh to Barnes and Co. in the past, but times change and apparently Six Feet Under can as well. I like these little life lessons!

Eternal Tears of Sorrow – Saivon Lapsi Review

Eternal Tears of Sorrow – Saivon Lapsi Review

By Steel Druhm on February 21, 2013 in 2013, 3.0, Black Metal, Death Metal, Finnish Metal, Gothic Metal, Massacre Records, Melodic Death Metal, Power Metal, Reviews, Black Metal, Heavy Metal, Melodic Death Metal, Power Metal, 6 comments

“Eternal Tears of Sorrow is an exceptionally fruity band name. The mere mention of it conjures images of a self-serious, black-garbed goth band (see photos) with a sultry, pouty femme fatale as front woman. If the name was keeping you away, you missed out on a quality band that blended black metal with melodic death, goth rock and symphonic power metal with good to great results. While I enjoyed all their albums, their crowning achievement was 2009’s Children of the Dark Water, which hit on the perfect combination of bombast, dark atmosphere, extremity, beauty and song writing that was shockingly good from stem to stern. At times it sounded like Cradle of Filth at their most symphonic mixed with early Cemetery, with traces of Kalmah, Insomnium and Amorphis added for good measure. After waiting over three years for a follow-up, we finally get Saivon Lapsi and with the long wait after such a great album, expectations were unavoidably high.” So… does this live up to those great expectations, or is it more of a bleak house? Get it? [YOU’RE FIRED! – AMG]

The Chant – A Healing Place Review

The Chant – A Healing Place Review

By Angry Metal Guy on August 10, 2012 in 2012, 3.0, Finnish Metal, Lifeforce Records, Not Metal, Reviews, Post-Metal, 3 comments

Finland’s penchant for downy frowny metal is pretty well known. Sporting doom, melodeath and atmospheric black metal acts the like of Swallow the Sun, Insomnium and October Falls and being known for long, dark, vodka-soaked, winters speckled with knife fights and rumors of sunlight somewhere south, it’s actually a surprise that Finland hasn’t produced a lot of more music consisting of both downies and frownies. Indeed, post-metallers The Chant are really the first in their particular idiom. What is their particular idiom, you ask? Well, you know, the kind of music you write when the sun hasn’t risen for a three months: depressive post-rock.