Title: WINTER OF LIFE - Mother Madness
Description: WINTER OF LIFE Mother Madness
Description: WINTER OF LIFE Mother Madness
metal4life - June 4, 2009 04:39 PM (GMT)
WINTER OF LIFE
Mother Madness
Casket 2009
Well this one has taken me totally by surprise. Judging by the band name and cover I was expecting your regular goth metal but this has many different ingredients which it make quite a listen indeed. The bands myspace lists them as Alternative/Progressive/Gothic and I must say that I wholeheartedly agree with that description. They have all those elements within their songs and it's quite hard to pigeonhole them as a prog band or an alternative band, they have that many influences going on.
In the end to make a successful record, all these different themes must gel seamlessly and by Jove I reckon Winter of Life have prospered on this their debut full length. The band consists of six members which is perhaps the prerequisite number for a quality prog metal band and thus they lack nothing when it comes to a full sound. The production is rich and clean though not super sharp or heavy. All instruments can be heard clearly so no complaints on that count.
The band is held together by the wonderfully emotional vocals from Elia Daniele with backing vocals from the rest of the band on occasion. Actually I should point out that on certain lines a more aggressive vocal is used which sounds slightly forced to these ears. When he uses his normal lush vocals he sounds absolutely superb I must say. A beautiful and slighly melancholic tone which reflects the album's overall sedateness and dark feelings which reflects the goth angle of the album. The music in general is quite sombre yet very melodic. The band members do not go for showy prog metal by numbers, but instead paint wonderfully lush atmospheres through harmonious guitar interludes and genuinely quality song writing.
It's actually quite hard to pick a standout song as every song had something going for it, be it a haunting vocal melody or a nice instrumental passage and a general sense of class. The alternative angle in the music comes mainly from the angsty vocal delivery and some of the chuggy midpaced riffing which wouldn't sound that out of place on a Tool album so to speak. But fret not this album is in the main catering for the goth fans who like it slightly cerebral with more intricate melodic riffing and drawn out lengthy songs occurring than your regular goth band can handle.
So although not my usual and regular type of record, Winter of Life have provided us with a very successful and commendable debut effort with enough melody to keep my attention throughout it's duration. Well done chaps, a very fine effort here.
© Pirage Forsi
Rating **** (4.0/5.0)
Buy @ Amazon
Mother Madness
Casket 2009
Well this one has taken me totally by surprise. Judging by the band name and cover I was expecting your regular goth metal but this has many different ingredients which it make quite a listen indeed. The bands myspace lists them as Alternative/Progressive/Gothic and I must say that I wholeheartedly agree with that description. They have all those elements within their songs and it's quite hard to pigeonhole them as a prog band or an alternative band, they have that many influences going on.
In the end to make a successful record, all these different themes must gel seamlessly and by Jove I reckon Winter of Life have prospered on this their debut full length. The band consists of six members which is perhaps the prerequisite number for a quality prog metal band and thus they lack nothing when it comes to a full sound. The production is rich and clean though not super sharp or heavy. All instruments can be heard clearly so no complaints on that count.
The band is held together by the wonderfully emotional vocals from Elia Daniele with backing vocals from the rest of the band on occasion. Actually I should point out that on certain lines a more aggressive vocal is used which sounds slightly forced to these ears. When he uses his normal lush vocals he sounds absolutely superb I must say. A beautiful and slighly melancholic tone which reflects the album's overall sedateness and dark feelings which reflects the goth angle of the album. The music in general is quite sombre yet very melodic. The band members do not go for showy prog metal by numbers, but instead paint wonderfully lush atmospheres through harmonious guitar interludes and genuinely quality song writing.
It's actually quite hard to pick a standout song as every song had something going for it, be it a haunting vocal melody or a nice instrumental passage and a general sense of class. The alternative angle in the music comes mainly from the angsty vocal delivery and some of the chuggy midpaced riffing which wouldn't sound that out of place on a Tool album so to speak. But fret not this album is in the main catering for the goth fans who like it slightly cerebral with more intricate melodic riffing and drawn out lengthy songs occurring than your regular goth band can handle.
So although not my usual and regular type of record, Winter of Life have provided us with a very successful and commendable debut effort with enough melody to keep my attention throughout it's duration. Well done chaps, a very fine effort here.
© Pirage Forsi
Rating **** (4.0/5.0)
Buy @ Amazon