This band is already a rather known name in the metal scene, but this is only their second album. Their debut ‘For Aeons Past’ is already five years old. Due to some line-up changes and family expansions it took a while to record and release this second album. But the band wrote a lot of songs in the past five years, so they decided to record a double album, which is going to be released in two phases. Phase 1 is now available and I must say that it sounds like a Swiss clock. With members that earned their stripes elsewhere (Scar Symmetry, Sonata Arctica, Stratovarius a.o.) you can certainly expect a certain level and nice musicianship.
They succeeded on all fronts with this album. It is heavy, it is melodic, it is sometimes rather catchy, it is melancholic and epic. The death metal parts with grunts go hand in hand with the clean singing in the catchy melodic parts. The floating keyboard passages underneath the music make the songs rather accessible and at times even radio friendly. Please don’t conclude now that I mean soft with radio friendly, far from that, the heavy parts just sound heavier due to this variation. I also like the grunting and harsh vocals on the album. There is variety in aggressive singing styles, you can compare it with Scar Symmetry. Now that I mentioned that band, I can’t ignore the fact that if you like Scar Symmetry, you will like Solution.45 as well. The music style is similar, combining heavy parts with clean melodic stuff, different singing styles and some technical heavy pieces. Although there are quite some similarities, there are enough differences as well. The second part of the album is perhaps a little less interesting, with some songs influenced by Soilwork for sure. In “Targeting Blaze” they even add some electronic sounds, perhaps to make it more interesting or to add variety. Personally, I don’t like that, but maybe that is just me.
All in all this is a nice album which will sure be liked by Scar Symmetry, Mercenary and Soilwork fans. Those of you who already enjoyed their debut will have some more expences this month!
Tracklist:
01. Wanderer From the Fold
02. Perfecting the Void
03. Bleed Heavens Dry
04. Winning Where Losing Is All
05. In Moments Of Despair
06. Second To None
07. Targeting Blaze
08. Alter (The Unbearable Weight Of Nothing)
09. Wield the Scepter
10. I, Nemesis
Playing Time: 59:00
Release Date: 20 November, 2015
Label: AFM Records
Website: www.solution45.com
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