Entwine - Fatal Design review
| Band: | Entwine |
| Album: | Fatal Design |
| Style: | Suomi metal |
| Release date: | August 23, 2006 |
| A review by: | KwonVerge |
01. Fatal Design
02. Chameleon Halo
03. Out Of You
04. Surrender
05. Oblivion
06. Twisted
07. Insomniac
08. My Serenity
09. Break Me
10. Curtained Life
Entwine is the band i totally loved with "Gone", one of the most beautiful releases to ever come out of Finland's melancholic rock/metal scene, "The Treasures Within Hearts" was an interesting debut album (with different vocalist), "Time Of Despair" was kinda HIM-oriented but cool and inspired too, 2004's "DiEversity" was their most commercial attempt up to date, but still, it was awesome! The question that follows is: What should we expect from Entwine during 2006? Hmmm, the answer could probably be "something more commercial", but i think that 2006's "Fatal Design" is less commercial than "DiEversity", it takes the sound of Entwine a step further for sure, it's always good to see bands progress their sound, but there's something missing in my opinion, or something that doesn't pace so well with the sound of the band, so let's see the album in depth!
The cover is beautiful, with a desolate and lonely aesthetic that paces with the feeling of the songs consisting of "Fatal Design". The line-up since "Gone" has remained the same, something very positive in my opinion since all the band members know how to work together and know how keep the sound they formed together.
What someone can easily notice is the fact that the guitars sound heavier than their previous attempt, so we're talking for a more metal-driven work, filled with powerful and intense moments. Someone could say that this one's the less depressive work of the band since "Gone", but still, the bittersweet melancholy is still present, it's just that it is either hidden at times or lends its place to groovier moments at others. The guitar work varies a lot, from acoustic and emotional guitar chords to heavy guitar riffing and from beautiful solos to groovy nu-metal-driven passages (which are being accompanied by vocals in the same vein, more powerful ones - a bright example of these elements has to be "Twisted"). The groovy guitar passages are well-conceived, but in my opinion they don't fit so much the sound of the band, i mean they're good, but not for Entwine's sound, others might be pleased, not me. Some of them work really well in their sound, but they used this element a lot in "Fatal Design". Somehow though you tend to get used to them. Talking about the guitars, a reference to the vocal lines has to follow since along with the guitars another option in the vocal way of expression has been added. Apart from the heart-rending and utterly emotional vocals that surround the listener in such tender and caressing ways there are some more rough vocals, having a more american edge, Mika handles them really well, both vocal types, but i definitely prefer the first type of vocals i mentioned! The bittersweet floating keyboard melodies and the either powerful or softer rhythm section come to complete the soundscapes of Entwine in the most appropriate way and along with a really strong and crystal-clear production everything gets the credit it deserves!
As for the compositions consisting of the album i have to say that, in one hand i totally loved "Chameleon Halo" and "Surrender" for their beautiful intensity, "Fatal Design" for being the ground-breaking emotional opener it is, "Break Me" for offering such sweet melancholy and "Curtained Life" for closing the curtains of the end for the album in the most atmospheric and emotional way (as the song reaches its end some guitar parts and the atmosphere for some reason brought forth memories of the post-"Elegy" period of Amorphis), i totally loved this song! On the other hand "Oblivion" and "Out Of You" were two very interesting compositions, whereas "My Serenity", "Insomniac" and Twisted" (except for less than its first half) didn't mean a lot to me, especially the first two.
Concluding, if "Fatal Design" was an EP of 5-6 compositions it would get without any shadow of doubt more than 9, yet now, with 3 songs that didn't impress me and 2 good ones that couldn't surpass the majesty of the 5 great ones completing the tracklist of the album it will get just a good final mark, sadly for me, because i love this band. The fans of Entwine" can proceed, they won't be disappointed!
"Fly through the crimson skies..."
Rating breakdown
| Performance: | 8 |
| Songwriting: | 7 |
| Originality: | - |
| Production: | 8 |
 | Written on 24.09.2006 by "It is myself I have never met, whose face is pasted on the underside of my mind." |
Comments
Comments: 7
Visited by: 37 users
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| Mr Heartbreaker Account deleted |
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| KwonVerge Odysseus Elite Posts: 5068  |
@Mr Heartbreaker: First of all, Entwine is one of the bands that i adore, a band i follow since "Gone", so everytime they release an album i'm always there to listen to it carefully and many times because Entwine is not just another band for me. And for Goth's sake, i didn't listen to it just 3-4 times and managed to write a review! Just because our opinions were the same in the beginnning and then you managed to love those songs and such it doesn't mean that the same happened to me, on the contrary i think, at first those three songs weren't bothering me so much, but with the more i was listening to them they didn't mean something. So i remain to my opinion about those three compositions, after all opinions are subjective, i have mine, you have yours, so i don't see why i should have listened to the album 3-4 times to necessarily agree with you, opinions vary  As for "out of you" it's a good song definitely, i enjoy it a whole lot, but it's not as perfect as the 5 great songs i found in this album, that's why i didn't put it in the same category as them. But that's just my opinion as i stated above, and i respect Entwine, which means i gave the appropriate listening to "Fatal Design", an album i listened to having the greatest expectations. As for the EP you mentioned, no, i haven't listened to it, but even if i had i wouldn't have mentioned it because i usually mentioned full-length albums in cases like this one of Entwine! Is it a good EP? But thanks for the constructive comment, you don't find much like this 
---- Dec. 30, 1334. ...And the whiskey and wine entered our veins when blood was too weak to carry on.
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| Mr Heartbreaker Account deleted |
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| +{Jonas}+ I R Serious Cat Posts: 4955  |
It's deffinitely a heavier album, but it has some songs that aren't so melancholic... Take "My Serenity", it's more like in the modd of I will survive, I'll be fine... Maybe this album is not so melancholic, it's a bit heavier and more agressive. But it's still a great release.
---- "Nobody wants to be the weird kid, you just end up being the weird kid. You don't know how you ended up getting there" - Rob Zombie http://jonas-bs.deviantart.com My dA, mainly photography, go check it out!
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| Milena gloom cookie Staff Posts: 4603  |
I prefer this one to Dieversity any day of the week, but only the second half of the album.
---- 7.0 means the album is good
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| Passenger Lost To Apathy Posts: 1464  |
Surrender has got to be one of the catchiest songs ever made. It's a good album overall.
---- You don't make up for your sins in church. You do it in the streets. You do it at home. The rest is bullshit and you know it ~ Mean Streets
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