Band:	Canopy
Album:	Serene Catharsis
Style:	Melodic death metal
Release date:	June 26, 2006
A review by:	Herzebeth

01. And Oceans
02. The Lie That You Once Told
03. Firmament (Part I)
04. Firmament (Part II)
05. Concentric
06. Last Point Of Reference
07. The Bleeding Earth
08. We Are Not To Be Of This World
09. Subtle
10. Serene Catharsis

Do you think Melodic Death Metal died? You couldn't be more wrong, Canopy offers one of the best Melodious attacks this year, "Serene Catharsis" marks the rebirth of a crumbled scene. A genre that lately saw its limbs turned into pansy fudge now becomes stronger than ever with this Canadian band.

I'm not calling Canopy an "innovative" band, and I'm surely not saying these guys are better than Entombed, Dismember, The Chasm or any of the genre pioneers, I'm argumenting that they are reforming the genre, that they CAN be as good as their forefathers were if they only want to. Forget about In Flames or Arch Enemy they are posers, don't even mention Bleeding Through or Chimaira they don't fit in here, you just need to remember one name from now on, that is Canopy.

Am I overreacting? Maybe, but it's obviously refreshing to hear a band that has the balls to play good and agressive Melodic Death Metal, the way it should be played, with great technique, catchy riffs and even progressive batches here and there. This album starts with a furious kick in the ears, "And Oceans" gives you the opportunity to set the controls in a high standard, then "Firmament I and II" arrive to twist the energy, this is nothing compared to the blasting song that is "The Bleeding Earth" with all those subtle atmospheres, violent songwriting, progressive elements and oh yes! Insanely brutal growls.

The packaging of this album is quite simple, though it's always a huge plus when the lyrics are available in the booklet, the layout is something very interesting (all white? Cool!) and the production of this record is just clean as water and loud as hell. The concept is quite good, w've seen it before (we're destroying the earth and stuff like that) but Canopy is smart enough to add a very philosophical aproach in their lyrics.

Anyway, I highly recommend this album to everyone into Melodic Death Metal...the followers of the modern style will be inmediately blown away, melancholic people waiting for the old wave to arrive, here's your opportunity, get this one as soon as possible.