Track: Expandera
Artist: Lifelover
Album: Sjukdom
Genre: dsbm
Similar Artists: Shining, Woods of Infinity, Hypothermia
Not bothering to properly check out Lifelover until recently, it turns out I'm more familiar with this record that any of their others except the debut. Sjukdom features a few of my favourite black metal tracks this year, which I find odd because this isn't the most consistent of albums. Save a few songs (the closing track especially), I find the first half of the album to be a lot stronger than the last, and for one simple reason: the addition of a sizable offering of low vocals. Needless to say, I don't like them, and find them completely out of place for a band I otherwise extremely enjoy. That being said, they do occasionally find their place, and this is by no means a bad album. On the contrary, standout tracks such as Horans Hora, and the first four tracks (the sample one here being one of them) have seen considerable play time on my stereo. I enjoy the unsettling vocals fans of the genre expect, the piano accompaniment, and especially the guitar-work, being very reminiscent of the rock 'n' roll aspects of Shining, and the new Forgotten Tomb record.
All in all, while not being the solid album one would expect after their critically acclaimed Konkurs (which I really haven't listened to enough to speak to), Lifelover's 2011 offering presents the black metal scene with a couple of stellar tracks, which I'm sure will become classics among their discography. That is, if I'm allowed to use the word "classic" in reference to a tongue-in-cheek band like Lifelover.
No comments:
Post a Comment