A brand of death metal we haven’t heard out of Sweden before – we look at Meadow’s End and their new full-length ‘Sojourn‘.
[tracklist]
01. Amidst the Villains
02. Remnants
03. Nightmare’s Reef
04. Heathens’ Embrace
05. Soulslain
06. Deadlands
07. End of Fallens
08. All of Them
09. Angel Dreams
10. Clench the Feet of Fools
11. Forever Haven
12. My Leading Command
[/tracklist]
[details]
[record_label]Independent[/record_label]
[release_date]29th February 2016[/release_date]
[/details]
If one mentions Swedish melodic death metal, or Gothenburg, you are almost certain on what it is going to sound like. After all In Flames and Arch Enemy have had such an impact on shaping that elite sound that bands often can’t find the means to stray away from it. But enter Meadow’s End – a band that has long dithered in the underground with EP’s and Demo’s, but now releases a full length effort ‘Sojourn‘ that promises to take it’s own approach to melo-death metal, and it certainly has.
The opening track of ‘Amidst the Villians‘ does a great job of defining what Meadow’s End are accomplishing. It’s that classic Gothenburg riffing paired with the versatile drum work, yet includes the orchestral elements one would find in a battle-filled film score. It’s easy to think it’s yet another one of those forcible clashes where bands try to find their uniqueness, but as the album progresses that sound is one that you can tell comes straight from the musicians hearts after years of craft.
The two following tracks of ‘Remnants‘ and ‘Nightmare’s Reef‘ are full-fledged pagan attacks with fierce growls covering the dark chord progressions. In honesty the album progresses so well that it serves as more of a piece to be listened to as a whole rather than finding an individual track.
As the album strikes it’s latter stages the sound builds into an even thicker onslaught with the ironic ‘Angel Dreams‘, and the ‘My Leading Command‘ showing the band are happy with what they have made for themselves without going into to much of a sound experiment.
‘Sojourn‘ is an album that should not sit in the shadows. It is a grand listening experience for those fans of orchestral metal, and a unique listen for those that are fans of the classic Gothenburg metal. A full piece that could easily accompany a film in it’s full length.
[verdict]Yes[/verdict]
[why]An interesting clash of Gothenburg melodic death metal and pagan metal. ‘Sojourn’ is a well-produced effort that stays on the safe side of experimentation, but offers a unique mix making it well worth the listen![/why]
