Thursday, September 12, 2013

NOUMENA - Death Walks With Me

The story of the band starts sometime back in 1998 in Finland, and their last effort was released about seven years ago. Now the band comes back from their hiatus, with their fourth album, and with a sound that will please all fans of Melodic Death Metal. The band is playing Melodic Death, Finland has a very strong scene in that genre, but doesn't limit it's music only to that, and this makes the album even more catchy and pleasant. Sure there's a lot of aggressive moments but there's also a Doom atmosphere spread through the whole album. The addition of female vocals creates a perfect contradiction with the male growls, and adds depth to the music. As the album progresses, there's plenty of things that surprise the listener, since the band has done a perfect job in the arranging area, creating songs that are diverse, with various influences and keep the listener eager for more. Melodies are also a vital part of this album, but also a very important role are playing instruments rather unique for a Death Metal album, such as French Horn, or mandolin. All these add diversity to the whole result, and make their music even more catchy and interesting. The grooves are also well worked, and stick into your mind right from the start, making you tap your feet or move your head. The songs are very good, with enough variety and surprises for the cautious listener to discover, and the production of the album is as heavy as it should be, to preserve even the smallest detail. Music-wise the band is moving on high levels, from the excellent growling vocals, to the eerie female ones, to the magnificent guitar work and the rhythm section, all members are doing a great job. With variety enough to stand the test of time, with arrangements way above the average, with no less good moments, this is an album full of quality music for everyone to explore. It seems that it took them some more time to prepare it, but it definitely worth the wait.

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