Assembly of Flowers

The middle east has had a few surprises in the way of Heavy Metal in recent years. You have Orphaned Land & Salem who are perhaps the best known from this part of the world. If you are unaware of SFG, you are seriously missing out.

This Doomdeath album is unique for several reasons, first off the production is alright (nothing to get excited about) but the music isn’t dreary, it’s rather upbeat. Another is that the band (seemingly) tunes to standard which is typically not done in the “Extreme” Metal world. Another is the vocalist is extremely good. All these and the ability to write really good songs makes for one great listen.

The guitars have a semi-laidback feel to them, with a few passing nods to Paradise Lost (and NO they aren’t cloning! Picture ‘Icon’ with a happier feel and an epic attitude.) There are a couple of solos and several harmonies. The drums are very sharp and never sound muddied. The bass is rather standard throughout the whole mix. The songs are (on average) moderately slow to slow.

The vocals are devastating and quite remarkable in the fact that the singer holds low growls for extended periods of time in each song all the while his voice never cracks. He has a few spoken word parts and even sings a little, this in tandem with a female vocalist.

The songs as a group or by themselves are very strong and very consistent. This album doesn’t drag and is well worth hunting down. A fine debut from a band on the other side of the world.