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Rating:
7.5 |
Amiensus - Restoration
1 January 2013
01. Dawn Of Release
02. Deeper Than Blood
03. Become The Fear
04. Morgawr
05. I Am
06. Millenium [feat. Ken Sorceron]
07. Healer
08. Thanatos
09. Prometheus [bonus]
Like Donny, I find myself out of my element in reviewing Amiensus' Restoration.
Ok, so unlike Theodore Donald Karabotsos I do have a frame of reference, although Meloblack has never really been my thing. Like my coffee, I prefer my black metal straight, harsh and not loaded with sugary additives. It just doesn't move me with all the rough edges removed. And thus the biggest problem with the album actually lies with the reviewer.
Their approach to meloblack features well produced, well-constructed songs with rasped vocals, keys, and string accompaniment. The musicians are clearly skilled and occasionally show off their chops via some nice soli, but are content not to let their obvious fretboard skills override their ability to craft quality tunes. The keyboardist deserves praise for a truly catchy-yet-tragic sounding flow in "Morgawr" which makes the song.
At times they conjure flashes of Borknagar and at other times flourishes of Arcturus. And while I can appreciate their obvious skills, the whole meloblack thing doesn't do it for me.
Where the album managed to pull me in and engage me was when they went even further away from Harshtown, Blackmetalstan. Enjoyable clean vocals, clean guitars, mellow yet vaguely foreboding parts help songs develop along the same path as so many of the Post-it bands I've reviewed… Start soft, build and develop intensity.
"Become The Fear" starts almost like something you'd see on eMpTy Vee unplugged, if only that channel played music… and had the balls to play talented artists rather than lame pop groups. Acoustic guitars, clean vox give it an almost folky feel. A couple minutes in the song does, indeed, boldly go where many have gone before… but the build-up is great. "I Am" is another similarly enjoyable track.
Also of note, Ken Sorceron of Abigail Williams appears on "Millenium".
So, all things considered, while I've made it abundantly clear meloblack isn't my cup of coffee, I have enjoyed this album, which means if you enjoy the genre, you should definitely check this out.
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Performance:
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8 |
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Songwriting:
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8 |
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Originality:
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7 |
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Production:
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9 |
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Written on 03.03.2013 by
BitterCOld
BitterCOld has been officially reviewing albums for MetalStorm since 2009.
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Comments
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5
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Users visited:
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146 |
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Nice one... a bit lightweight, but very enjoyable in a bubble-gummy way. BTW, this is what it says on bandcamp:
"We recorded it ourselves in our homes and dorm rooms and finished recording in Fall 2011. We sent it off to Ken Sorceron (Abigail Williams) to mix/master it and re-amp our guitars, drums, and keyboards."
http://amiensus.bandcamp.com/album/restoration |
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| For me this album had more boring parts than exciting. There were a few really nice sections, but unfortunately (I feel) the band's potential was not reached. I'd give it a mid 6 (like a 6.3) |
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| Reminds me of WoY in places. Cool album. |
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Written by Alex Lemon on 04.03.2013 at 18:12
For me this album had more boring parts than exciting. There were a few really nice sections, but unfortunately (I feel) the band's potential was not reached. I'd give it a mid 6 (like a 6.3)
For me my yellow friend, your rate IS SO HIGH tstststs |
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Great review! The opening was hilarious.
As for the music, I can definitely see how the music warranted the grade you gave it. Thanks for sharing. |
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