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| #FOR FANS OF: Melo Death, Insomnium |
As the melodic death metal scene collapsed after some years of success,
it was clear that the surviving bands or the new ones were going to
struggle to gain the same recognition. The positive aspect of this fall
in disgrace was that the new projects were actually going to try to
forge their own sound, without being obsessed to copy what the leading
bands were doing at a certain moment. A fine example of one of these
interesting projects is represented by the Spanish band Eternal Storm.
This project was founded in 2009, though the band members have needed
ten years to release their debut album. In this period of time the band
has released an EP and a split album. Moreover, as often happens, the
project suffered several line-up changes, which are always problematic.
Anyway, the hard work has paid off and the band managed to catch the
attention of the underground label Trascending Obscurity Records
releasing in 2019 its first effort entitled ‘Come the Tide’.
Eternal
Storm proposes a pretty elaborated form of melodic death metal with a
strong atmospheric touch in the vein of bands like Insomnium, one of the
finest examples of how melodic death can still be an interesting and
touching genre. ‘Come the Tide’ is a long album clocking almost one hour
of time, with songs around 6 minutes. This detail clearly shows that
the band likes to compose songs with variety and interesting structures.
The band´s compositions flow between the most aggressive sections, with
fast drums, powerful riffs and remarkably strong growls performed by
Kheyron, who sadly is no longer in the band, and calmer sections which
are tastefully introduced. The high and lows in the song’s pace sound
awesome and make the songs a very exciting experience. Technically
speaking, the band members sound very skilled, as the guitar patterns
have some elaboration and richness, fluctuating tough different ranges
of riffing styles. We could say the same about the drums which sound
technically impeccable and varied. One doesn´t need to seek deeply in
the album to fine great examples of this technicality and quality, as
the album opener itself, called "Through the Wall of Light Pt.I (The
Strand)" shows the impressive potential of this band. The calmest
sections can appear as a bridge between different heavier sections,
commonly in the form of delicate guitar chords, or as an introduction of
the song. This happens with the second track, where we can even listen
to a saxophone, a surprising add which works fine in my opinion. In this
as per other compositions, we can listen to some clean vocals, which
are also pretty solidly performed. It seems that the band has used some
guests in order to enrich vocally this album, complementing the
aforementioned excellent growls, which nevertheless play a major role on
this album. Even though I wouldn´t define this band as progressive, the
clean vocals, some guitar chords, especially those we can listen to in
certain tranquil sections, and looking how the songs evolve, it´s
undeniable that the band has a progressive nature in its music. This
progressive touch is present in the way how they try to create songs
with an evolving and rich nature.
In conclusion,
although Eternal Storm spent a long time to release this first opus,
‘Come the Tide’ is unquestionably an impressive first album due to its
variety, quality and richness in its compositions, with a tasteful
balance between a straightforward fury and a melodic and atmospheric
mood. Therefore, this album should appeal not only all the melodic
death metal fans, but all the metalheads who want to enjoy an inspired
and excellent metal album. (Alain González Artola)
