Some addictive melodic riffs is something that would save the album a little, except there's nothing addictive about them. Occasionally it seems they accidentally recorded the same riff twice in different songs. The first rating that came to mind was 6.0 - pre-calculated and boring, though well performed death metal.

Boring!

For those who are interested I have to point out Tommi Kiviniemi's role as SOA's bassist and not as the band's guitarist.
As for my thoughts on what is stated in this review: In many ways adding something fresh to a music scene takes a lot of creativity and effort to do so. But there are people who prefer to make music that is faithful to their hearts, and this does not, in any way, result in coming up with something fresh. I don't think they really ever had the intention of gaining acceptance among people who sought something "too fresh and creative." They're not competing, they're not even trying to prove anything so explicitly. As for the review, I find it to be enjoyable. Thanks for the review.

Written by Monolithic on 17.01.2013 at 08:35

For those who are interested I have to point out Tommi Kiviniemi's role as SOA's bassist and not as the band's guitarist.
As for my thoughts on what is stated in this review: In many ways adding something fresh to a music scene takes a lot of creativity and effort to do so. But there are people who prefer to make music that is faithful to their hearts, and this does not, in any way, result in coming up with something fresh. I don't think they really ever had the intention of gaining acceptance among people who sought something "too fresh and creative." They're not competing, they're not even trying to prove anything so explicitly. As for the review, I find it to be enjoyable. Thanks for the review.

Yes Kiviniemi plays the bass, a type of guitar, which would of course make him a guitarist.

They may well be playing faithful to their hearts but that doesn't mean we should ignore the fact that it's one of numerous melodeath albums in a similar vein. They're competing by putting out music, that's how it works. A band puts out an album, particular one with already considerably known musicians, and its inevitably going to judged by various criteria such as how it stacks up to its peers as well as on its own merits.

But I tried to explain that they have something going for them on this album which I imagine might make their sound more appealing to a particular audience, namely the noticeable and well played out influence of bands with a closer alignment to death metal, such as the hints of Carcass here and there. The album sounds a little fresh at least because of that, hence why I gave it a 7 for originality, I thought they deserved it for making an album which really keeps both the death and melodic aspects in mind.

Written by R'Vannith on 17.01.2013 at 13:10

Written by Monolithic on 17.01.2013 at 08:35

For those who are interested I have to point out Tommi Kiviniemi's role as SOA's bassist and not as the band's guitarist.
As for my thoughts on what is stated in this review: In many ways adding something fresh to a music scene takes a lot of creativity and effort to do so. But there are people who prefer to make music that is faithful to their hearts, and this does not, in any way, result in coming up with something fresh. I don't think they really ever had the intention of gaining acceptance among people who sought something "too fresh and creative." They're not competing, they're not even trying to prove anything so explicitly. As for the review, I find it to be enjoyable. Thanks for the review.

Yes Kiviniemi plays the bass, a type of guitar, which would of course make him a guitarist.

They may well be playing faithful to their hearts but that doesn't mean we should ignore the fact that it's one of numerous melodeath albums in a similar vein. They're competing by putting out music, that's how it works. A band puts out an album, particular one with already considerably known musicians, and its inevitably going to judged by various criteria such as how it stacks up to its peers as well as on its own merits.

But I tried to explain that they have something going for them on this album which I imagine might make their sound more appealing to a particular audience, namely the noticeable and well played out influence of bands with a closer alignment to death metal, such as the hints of Carcass here and there. The album sounds a little fresh at least because of that, hence why I gave it a 7 for originality, I thought they deserved it for making an album which really keeps both the death and melodic aspects in mind.

Well it's better to clarify that by calling him the bass guitarist. it kinda confuses people.

No no no no no I never tried to do that. I never tried to ignore that. I just said there might be an angle where you find something rather positive in their album and listening to it without any discrimination or prejudice.

Forgive me but I disagree on the competition part. Here's what I think: By competition I mean that you make music that is more appealing to a wide range of music fans, just to draw their attention and praises to yourself instead of other bands. I hope I've given a clear explanation on what I have in my mind.

I've had some brief contact with Wille and he had always been fascinated by the 90's Death Metal. This is also evident in his statement prior to the album's release day.

And more thing: I'm totally satisfied with the ratings.

Written by Monolithic on 17.01.2013 at 13:21


Well it's better to clarify that by calling him the bass guitarist. it kinda confuses people.

No no no no no I never tried to do that. I never tried to ignore that. I just said there might be an angle where you find something rather positive in their album and listening to it without any discrimination or prejudice.

Forgive me but I disagree on the competition part. Here's what I think: By competition I mean that you make music that is more appealing to a wide range of music fans, just to draw their attention and praises to yourself instead of other bands. I hope I've given a clear explanation on what I have in my mind.

I've had some brief contact with Wille and he had always been fascinated by the 90's Death Metal. This is also evident in his statement prior to the album's release day.

And more thing: I'm totally satisfied with the ratings.

Sorry to mislead you there

Personally I found that death edge gave it not only something with which it can be compared with what's going on the genre nowadays but also makes it very enjoyable on it's own terms. I can definitely see that love for 90's death metal shining through here. Performance, production and songwriting are all strong enough to make it enjoyable, especially to fans of the genre.

I can see what you mean about the competition, you explain what you mean well. I don't think there would be many bands at all with such broad aspirations, hoping that their albums will appeal to fans of all genres. Can't hurt to aim big though. I agree they are playing the kind of music that they enjoy, not really trying to blaze any new trails of originality if you know what I mean.

And this would leave me speechless.
Looking forward to read more reviews written by you.