Witherscape - The Northern Sanctuary review
| Band: | Witherscape |
| Album: | The Northern Sanctuary |
| Style: | Atmospheric death metal, Extreme progressive metal |
| Release date: | July 22, 2016 |
| Guest review by: | X-FrEaK |
01. Wake Of Infinity
02. In The Eyes Of Idols
03. Rapture Ballet
04. The Examiner
05. Marionette
06. Divinity
07. God Of Ruin
08. The Northern Sanctuary
09. Vila I Frid
As a proud fan of Dan Swanö's work, I don't really know how it took me so long to discover this project. I was so disappointed in myself but on the other hand was also completely astonished and I will start this review by stating this: The Northern Sanctuary is my album of the year.
Who the hell is the moustache guy Swanö brought along for this project? I really don't know who or why Swanö thought it would need a friend with a moustache (his name is Ragnar Widerberg by the way) to play bass and guitar for him but I am really glad he did. The musicianship is top notch and while the songwriting here is nothing really different from Swanö's other bands (this really seems the logical sequel to Edge Of Sanity - with a lot of Nightingale influences throughout) it's a blessing for us humans to hear Swano's growls and clean vocals.
The Northern Sanctuary has some really catchy melodeath songs that will stick in your heads for days (or even months - I have been replaying the album for the second time this year) like "In The Eyes of Idols", "The Examiner" (those vocals!), and "God Of Ruin" to name a few. And do you want something that resembles sort of a "Mini-Crimson"? Worry not! Swanö and the moustache guy have got you covered with the title track which goes on for almost 14 minutes without ever falling into boredom territory (c'mon...this is Dan Swanö we are talking about, right?!).
If you love Dan Swanö, if you are missing your Edge Of Sanity/Nightingale, if you love metal, this album is for you.
Rating breakdown
| Performance: | 10 |
| Songwriting: | 9 |
| Originality: | 7 |
| Production: | 10 |
Written by X-FrEaK | 02.01.2017
Guest review disclaimer:
This is a guest review, which means it does not necessarily represent the point of view of the MS Staff.
This is a guest review, which means it does not necessarily represent the point of view of the MS Staff.
Comments
Comments: 5
Visited by: 83 users
| qnick90 Posts: 101  |
Yeah, it is my album of the year too... Maybe I am a fanboy, but hell, this stuff is so good
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| frequenzangriff Posts: 280  |
I stumbled upon this band by accident, i liked them a lot from the same moment. They sound interesting, unique, they mix several diffrent elements and styles, really great.
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| Marchosias Posts: 44  |
I have started to listen to this band with their debut album The Inheritance. Since then they have never dissapointed this humble listener. This album is definetaly a high point in the bands relative short discography.
---- A mediocre metalhead.
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| TheBigRossowski Posts: 1357  |
Three years later and I'm also just discovering this. I'm the real failure here hahahah! Checking it out 
---- That rug really tied the room together, did it not? 
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| JoHn Doe Posts: 5084  |
Written by TheBigRossowski on 22.09.2020 at 14:03 It's never too late to discover music, old and new. I can make a long list of bands and albums i discovered way too late. 
---- I thought the two primary purposes for the internet were cat memes and overreactions.
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