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Sarea "This is Not Goodbye"
Review by Matthew Haumschild
01. Conform With Me
Websites
Line up
Chris Forsberg - Vocals
Cleaner and modern version of the melodic Death Metal. This
is what you need to know about this band first and foremost, they are from
Sweden! Why on Earth would I even mention this? Because this goes towards
credibility of this band, Sweden is the home of the some of the greatest
metal bands on the planet. So
when I even make mention of the fact of the bands geographical origin, I am
in-fact paying homage to bands like In Flames, Dark Tranquillity, Soilwork,
Opeth, Drain STH…take your pick the promotional group that was marketing
this band likend Sarea to the above bands (excluding Opeth and Drain
respectively), so I had to listen and make judgment for myself and for
you…the listener.
What
I noticed first: For
some reason my iPod scrambled the song order of the album, so up until I
began writing this, I haven’t listened to the song in proper order, but
this is what I can tell you, this is quite important. Production is so
important when an album is properly created. The most listenable and
marketable songs are in the first 5 tracks. Conform With Me, This Void,
Downfall and The Catch 22 are similar in sounding and are actually
comparable to newer In Flames (post Re-route To Remain) than the latter;
with modern sounding, higher pitched screams and howls and with hints of
melodic-death metal. The Song “Hope” actually reminds me of “The
Chainheart Machine” era Soilwork. Which is probably the best compliment I
can give to any band. I
kept listening:
The bands sound is
best described as a cleaner and modern version of the melodic death metal
from the region from whence they came. I probably wouldn’t put the band in
the same league as the bands mentioned above, not to put the band down at
all. The guitar solos, drumming, and singing are actually really good. Not
enough bass though! On another note, the album really flows in terms of song
order and feeling that it gives the listener, when listening to the album
from cover to cover, it really is a complete album.
Production:
I would love to have
a chat with the engineer, producer, and masterer, the hi-hats are clipping
in nearly every track. The cymbals just sound like crap! The snare could be
so much better too! I think it might be to over compression? I can
especially hear it in “This Void.” The ride is clear as a bell in
“Twenty0ne” but overall the mix for the drums is inconsistent for my
knitpicking. The synth could have sounded a little better as well in certain
spots in terms of sound quality, nothing to take away from the person
playing them.
Overall: I liked the album a lot. It took me a few listens to like it, which is typical of a 34 year old who has set a high benchmark for new music. I do feel like this band has a lot of potential if someone like Andy Sneap, Juan Ortega, or Fredrik Nordström worked with the band for their next album. Sarea could really be something.Rating: 8/10 Review by Matthew Haumschild 29.10.2014
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