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On disc: Meltgsnow



Black Penance - Claudia Ehrhardt - 8 stars


www.myspace.com/meltgsnow666







Black Penance

Black Penance
(Pulverised Records - 2010)


To be honest I haven't heard of Meltgsnow before, but I learnt that they had an album released in 2003 which was called Greed For Insanity. Now Pulverised Records is presenting their new album Black Penance.
They open up with the intro Through The Ashes Of Providence, an atmospheric short track with spoken words. The first song is the heavy, up-tempo tune Betrayal, a song which shows some similarities to mid-90's Paradise Lost, but also offers danceable beats. At Betrayal you get the first impression of Lord Insanity's vocal range which covers everything from melodic clean vocals to black-ish screams to growls... you name it. Guitarists Zach and David also cite Draconian Times at Betrayal. With Devil's Mind Ride they speed up and offer a mix of fast double bass drumming, some thrashy elements, a fat groove and partly high-pitched vocals, partly deep clean vocals. A sonic roller coaster ride! At Lost Your Messiah you even get an excursion into progressive metal sounds. The title track Black Penance starts slowly, a dark rocker with up-tempo passages and a catchy refrain. None of the songs lack heaviness, the quintet just changes speed. Some tunes have a danceable beat while others are less catchy, but enchanting in their own way. A good example for their unique sound is Death Takes My Soul. The beginning of the closer Love For My Seraph is balladesque, but then the song explodes - and later they get back to the opening theme. Again you'll find reminiscences to Paradise Lost, Charon and Metallica - and more.
At time Meltgsnow reminds me of Paradise Lost, but at some parts Lord Insanity sounds like James Hetfield singing an Entwine song... But you can also detect a dash of King Diamond in Meltgsnow's sound. It seems to be a weird mix, but somehow the band from Singapore manage to create something unique and even if the album takes several spins to show all its beauty it's worth spending time! Check them out at their MySpace! And watch the album teaser: Black Penance album teaser


8 stars

Claudia Ehrhardt
 

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