Equilibrium boast a discography that most bands that strive for an epic sound cannot do. The German metallers have put four records behind them that have been met with increasing acclaim from fans of the cinematic, folk and pagan genres, and even breaking bounds with fans in the general metal spectrum. In 2016 they bring ‘Armageddon‘ – can they live up to their epic reputation once again in their fifth album?
[tracklist]
01. Sehnsucht
02. Erwachen
03. Katharsis
04. Heimat
05. Born To Be Epic
06. Zum Horizont
07. Rise Again
08. Prey
09. Helden
10. Koyaaniskatsi
11. Eternal Destination
[/tracklist]
[details]
[length]50:11[/length]
[record_label]Nuclear Blast[/record_label]
[release_date]August 12th 2016[/release_date]
[/details]
Again, the back-catalogue of Equilibrium has been acclaimed by an increasing amount of metal fans, more recently those who were exposed to the band for the first time through the preceding effort ‘Erdentempel‘. I, myself am one of those who holds the band in very high regard, with 2008’s ‘Sagas‘ ranking in my top albums of all time. The band have frolicked in the top of the underground for a while now, but are starting to emerge as a true metal force. Is ‘Armageddon‘ the album to break them out into the open?
It’s quite the traditional opening track for Equilibrium in ‘Sehnsucht‘ – a bombastic flair of orchestrations and open power chords that have served the band good favour throughout their musical career, and suddenly highlight the dark musical motifs of the album with the transition to the heavier ‘Erwachen‘. It’s all very Equilibrium, but it’s as the tracklist progresses is where things get interesting.
It’s been highlighted in the past that this band are musically fearless, and it’s arguably done them a lot of good in the past using untraditional metal influences such as Carribean and South American folk music, but ‘Armageddon‘ seems to adopt these influences while taking a different approach to songwriting this time around. The track ‘Heimat‘ is a pure example of that fearlessness.
The music drops the progressive approach to a more simplistic structure of verses and chorus with intermittent build-ups. All the orchestral and folk elements of past are there, but tracks like these hit harder on the epic than any Equilibrium track has done before. ‘Armageddon‘ really makes an effort to add a new edge to the band’s discography, adding new layers to the already monumental sound in tracks such as the video game inspired ‘Helden‘ and the tranquil melodies of ‘Koyaniskaatsi‘.
Equilibrium have made another brilliant album, and while yes, sounds may be a bit more experimental and song structures may have been simplified, there is absolutely no arguing that the production of each and every track on ‘Armageddon‘ is of epic preportions. From the heavy riffing, the soothing flutes, and the bombastic orchestral progressions – the album certainly ranks worthy into their massive discography.
[verdict]Yes[/verdict]
[why]Once again Equilibrium bring a colossal sound with ‘Armageddon’, albeit with a different songwriting approach. The darker hooks and diversified elements have refreshed the cinematic score and open a new epic chapter in the band’s back-catalogue.[/why]
