Necropolis

Wait, didn't I already review this band? Oh that's right, I'm thinking of Elzevir's Rise from Knees from back in April; how could I forget... or maybe it was Degradead, Scartown, Obtenabris or Kill the Romance - just to name the most recent names in a growing list of post-Bodom bands that spawned in earnest at some time at or around 2005. These bands were simply everywhere back then, and consistent with my experiences so far, Icewind Blast fail to buck any of these trends with Necropolis, their only release before lapsing into eternal obscurity. Was this fate warranted? Well, in this case I believe so, as Icewind Blast offer little but the most rote and banal of Scandinavian melodeath trappings. It is certainly a fine mess, one that we are quite familiar with by this point.

Drenched in corny synths, Apocalypse jumps from chunky powerchords to pathetic melodic guitar phrasings in an attempt to sidestep the expectation of technical chops - which they certainly lack. The vibe I get is that these guys got together and tried to pull off some Hate Crew Deathroll-era Children of Bodom, but due to technical limitations and lack of songwriting merit, instead sound closer to something like Norther. This is partially because the keys are more atmospheric and almost symphonic, with their solos more measured and reliant on the pitch bend. Honestly, I much prefer keyboard solos like this that don't irrelevantly shred up and down the scale, and while Serafima Demidova is no Warman or even Tuomas Planman, she is the standout performance. Vocals are a tepid, gasping croak of a death "growl" and contribute nothing, and while the guitarists do carve out some nice leads during the title track, the rhythm riffs are quite stock.

In any event, the Norther comparisons continue, with sections of the title track sounding like "Nothing" from Death Unlimited - the album that Necropolis falls closest to sonically. Production is a mixed bag, with the drums and guitars sounding surprisingly breathy and forceless. The keys are mixed up front and dominate when they appear, which is probably for the best. Icewind Blast have some moments of glory on here, with some sections sounding akin to something Children of Bodom might have spat out during their more spastic early period, terrible lyrics and all. In fact, "Burnland" could almost pass as a lost Inearthed tune at times, so I will give these guys some credit there.

Yet another lost and forgotten band to recommend only to genre diehards, Icewind Blast bring up the rear of the Russian melodic death contingent, worth only a passing glance by post. If you are really into Norther's more restrained approach this should contain some nuggets of worth. Just slightly under par on the whole, really.

I admit when I see a band's name being Icewind Blast I am obviously expecting a bunch of Immortal clones who worship those Forgotten Realms RPGs which came out a few years back for PCs. Not the case with this album. Hell, I don't even see anything grim and wintry on the cover, it looks more like a scene from The Stand or something.

This is the debut from a melodic death metal band out of Russia, who have a rather middle of the road, simple style with a lot of keyboards. Comparatively, their style falls closer to the Finnish bands Kalmah, Children of Bodom and Norther than the Swedish scene. Unfortunately, these guys don't have that frenzied pace which makes many of the peers of their genre so interesting, though they do try.

The production on the album is crisp, clear and in your face. Not always an easy thing to pull off with a keyboard player so prevalent in the songs, but it works here. The band are all competent musicians, vocal/guitarist Max Zalutskiy has a pretty average bark for this genre, not exactly impressive but suited to the songs. As far as the songs, most of them were decent, but few really stood out. "Burnland" is a pretty good track, and one of the more frenetic tracks on the album. "Where the Icy Wind Blows" follows suit, and "Coming to the Deadline" might just be my favorite, another track where they pick up the pace.

If you are really into that Finnish style of melodic death infused heavily with keys, this is a band to watch, but they really aren't at the level of their peers quite yet. However, they're not at all bad and there is no real downside to the album.

-autothrall
http://www.fromthedustreturned.com