Fragments

No two Loudblast albums are the same, I see this as more of a virtue than anything else. Not only did their style change progressively over the years, however disagreeable the change was, they did it well.

On 1998's "Fragments" Loudblast have certainly already peaked, no question. Modern influences are beginning to creep into their sound. But this is definitely not 'mallcore', in fact it is not that far a cry from 1993's "Sublime Dementia" in style. Call it 'superior mallcore' if you have to.

If one focuses solely on the guitar performances and writing... This is clearly not the death/thrash of ten years past, nor is it the floridian death metal that followed. The riffing is less dense, and not nearly as interesting as what came before. But "Fragments" is clearly melodic death metal in style, and still manages to evoke their unique personality. The writing and vocal performance is akin to "Sublime Dementia", and I believe you would have to have fully enjoyed that release before taking on this one with an open mind.

There is some value here, and it's a shame to write this release off solely based on it's modern influences and shortcomings when compared to the past.

Loudblast finally made a great album with Sublime Dementia, but then they decided to suddenly turn mallcore with this abortion. They've changed their style drastically on all their albums, so you could have probably predicted this. But with such terrible results? Sure, I bet they saw that Machine Head and Fear Factory were getting better sales than they were, so I guess that you can't blame them for selling out...

To quote Anthrax: NOT!!!

What you get here is mostly some rehashed modern riffs, dumbed down songs and pretty pathetic vocals. Stéphane Buriez ditched his death vocals for a more "core" sounding approach, rendering the lyrics more intelligible. This is not, however, easy to overlook, especially when they put them over already weak songs that rely more on groove riffs than intelligent song structures. "Into The Keep" is really the only song on here that works well in this new format, but it just sounds lazy. A few of the songs near the end have a Paradise Lost melodic feel to them, and can be listened to on their own right. But over all, you're going to be reminded of basically Machine Head interpreted with a more European flavor.

No wonder they split up after this album. I hear it sold well, but it has not stood the test of time very well.