Band:	The Man-Eating Tree
Album:	Harvest
Style:	Suomi metal
Release date:	November 23, 2011
A review by:	Milena

01. Harvest Bell
02. At The Green Country Chapel
03. Code Of Surrender
04. Armed
05. Like Mute Companions
06. Exhaled
07. Down To The Color Of The Eye
08. Incendere
09. All You Kept Free
10. Karsikko
11. Everything Dies [Type O Negative cover] [bonus]

Rating in words: pleasant, seductive, well-structured.

The Man-Eating Tree, what a symbolic band name. The band has grown so much over the course of one year, effectively branching* into new territories while at the same time staying firmly rooted** in the same ground - the product of this wonderful change is one of the best gothic metal albums of 2011. Their debut, Vine, an album nominated for the Metal Storm Awards as well, came across as a bit pedestrian to me. It had the same balance of wonderfully gentle and intricate elements, but failed to produce memorable tunes that would stick to my head. Harvest is an enormous improvement in terms of songwriting - it is a lot catchier and more cohesive. While Vine relied on a slightly brooding atmosphere, Harvest is all about song development and progression, which makes it a lot better in my eyes.

Although the focus has been shifted to achieving qualities different than on the first release, the base of The Man-Eating Tree's sound hasn't changed between the two albums. The key word here is layering. Every element alone is soft and intricate - very gentle guitar melodies, keyboards mostly adopting the sound of a classic piano, creative but simple rhythms and, as a cherry on top, the uniquely expressive vocals of Tuomas Tuominen. When there are displays of raging emotion, they're confined to one instrument alone, while others are keeping up with their delicate dance. And yet, when you join them all together, their collective weight crushes you.

I must note that this is one of the bands that makes me wish we made "atmospheric metal" or "(melodic) dark metal" legit sub-genres. There is little or no connection to goth rock or gothic metal of the 90's, but every dreary, bleak and/or overly melodic band is being lumped into the gothic category nevertheless. This might be a sign of genre progression, or, on the other hand, a sign that we use sub-genres as means to describe the atmosphere rather than the sound. This is not the only sub-genre with an identity crisis, but I guess that if it isn't broken, you don't fix it.

Of course, since this band is composed of skilled professionals of (semi) famous Finnish bands, you'll find no flaws there; even though Tuominen is the shining star on the album (he reminds me slightly of Eddie Vedder!), and certain tough guys (hi Rod) have admitted going gay over his wondrous voice, the rest of the band doesn't lag behind at all. The production is top notch as well; the only flaw of this album, and the only song I skip is "Down To The Color Of The Eye", an attempt at delivering a heavier punch that wasn't constructed very well. Lovers of darkness and melodies in their metal should consider this a recommendation.

* Sorry about this, I like lame puns.
** At least you didn't get a lame dendrophilia joke.