Band:	Winter Solstice
Album:	The Fall Of Rome
Style:	Metalcore
Release date:	2005
Guest review by:	yosterdude

01. Following Caligula
02. Calibrate The Virus
03. Watcher
04. Courtesy Bow
05. The Fall Of Rome
06. Malice In Wonderland
07. 55/23
08. The Hampton Roads Fourth Annual Parade Of The Blind
09. To The Nines
10. L'aeroport

Many are tired of the metalcore genre running wild in the USA these days; every band that comes out of the pack is just one copy of the one before. But I totally disagree on some levels when I hear this band. I know on the first listen you will probably not even remark any differences from bands like Unearth, but people, give it a chance.

I think that out of the big metalcore pack of bands this has got to be one of the most original. The riffs are ala Melodic-Death/Gothenburg style. They have a lot of more melodic elements compared to some other Metalcore bands.

The drumming on the other hand is nothing special, just another band that uses double bass pedal and doesn't seem to want to let it go. Nothing bad with it, I just mean this type of band should try some other styles of drumming at times. It gets boring after a while.

Now for the bass, can anyone even hear much bass in this? I can usually discern bass very well, but in this band the bass is almost non-existent. The only time you can hear it is when the drumming stops, or semi-stops. This is a sad factor about most of the Metalcore bands out there.

The singing, now this is something more. I think that this is probably one of the best Metalcore singers out there (the other good one being the singer for The Black Dahlia Murder). I think that he stands out by not doing that typical
talking/singing/growling. This singer actually has a good growl/screaming voice and he will keep your attention during the songs. There are no breaks in his good voice; you can see that he has talent.

I can say that this is a well accomplished album, and his has a good concept to it. It at least has some sort of background and some depth in the lyrics. In a way it makes them stand out from the crowd.

Overall very good album, lack of originality at times, but they make up with
good vocals.

Highlights of the album: Following Caligula, Courtesy Bow, To the Nines ...and a cool touch of instrumental with The Fall of Rome