Register Forgot login?

© 2002-2024
Encyclopaedia Metallum

Privacy Policy

Norther > Death Unlimited > Reviews
Norther - Death Unlimited

Bland Unlimited - 29%

OzzyApu, February 27th, 2012

Pack them in, Norther. Pack a whole bunch of songs using the same tired formula Children Of Bodom hung out to dry, reused again and again, and then bailed to dig their own grave. At this point, the power metal / melodic death pomposity was at a dead end for Norther. They could either adapt other elements, or execute the shit out of the writing process to make killer songs. If the compositions work, then that makes up for the same blaring, speedy, tame, freezing ruggedness that this brand of melodic death offers. However, Norther's the last band in their circle to be able to do that, so it's back to the same drivel that could have been heard on Dreams Of Endless War or Mirror Of Madness. Same music... different album... differing levels of shittiness.

To my knowledge, Kristian Ranta makes his vocal debut for Norther on this album ("A Fallen Star"). For the most part, I think his voice is pretty good. However, it's used in a Val Kilmer douche-chilly way that makes them utilized in the most awkward way. The vocal lines for the harsh vocals have more or less sucked ass since the band's inception, as well as the lyrics that go with them, so there's no way in hell the clean vocals would have any easier time being accepted. Ranta's vocals on "A Fallen Star" are submerged under the weight of poppy keys, garbage can snares, and paper-shredded guitar distortion. This album is supposed to be a step-up in terms of aggression, but instead it's inflated with the same uplifting, familial hostility that's been loose since the beginning. The clean vocals are decent experimenting (for Norther, not melodic death as a whole or from a quality perspective), but it's the same padded filler from start to finish - this time even longer than before.

Trying to sound epic doesn't mean overuse of the keys and going for catchier leads. It's the subtle feeling underneath, which no song on this album is capable of doing sans the relaxing instrumental "Beneath". It's the atmospheric decency in this song that reminds me of "Frozen Sky" and how it captures a distressing feeling that's far from what Norther normally does. A better execution of the same power metal-leaning, melodramatic melodic death found on this album is Skyfire's Spectral. That's an album that focuses on compositional strength in riffs and evocative tones rather than super-simplicity and straightforward aimlessness. A song like "Hollow" can be as catchy as it wants, but if it goes nowhere and does nothing to invigorate then there's no value behind in the song. Actually, that song's a bad example since it has some pretty cool leads, but what matters is the overall mind-numbing formula that results from the song and all of its peers on this album.

Petri Lindroos' dehydrated, unvaried screams, Ranta's standardized riffing alongside Lindroos', Hallio's factory-direct drumming (meaning the sound of his kit and the way he plays), Planman's unsavory, exaggerated keys, and Koskinen's fat, blubbery bass support come together to make up a batch of polished, unpleasant melodic death with all the energy but none of the fervor. There are little things here and there that Norther experimented with, but it does nothing to change the nature of the music. No matter how close to power metal ecstasy or Iron Maiden lovability this band reaches, it's still sugar-coated metal with emotion as thin as ice build-up in your freezer at home.

Take a step to the other side of divinity. - 70%

Diamhea, February 5th, 2009

Death Unlimited lacks much of the compositional elegance of its predecessor, resulting in a more straightforward sounding approach which foreshadowed the band's slow but steady downfall over the next seven years. This was the first Norther album that I got immediately when it came out, and it certainly didn't disappoint at first blush. There are more keyboards, the vocals are more abrasive and over the top, and the leads are all over the place; it just lacks staying power. Norther just has this nasty habit of settling into a mid-paced romp on most of their tracks which end up forcing the guitars and keyboards alone to carry the day. On tracks with songwriting variety such as "Chasm" and "The Cure" this isn't so much of a problem. Conversely, many of the more filler-oriented tracks like "Vain" and "Hollow" never fully satisfy, making navigating Death Unlimited a precarious affair during a single sitdown.

Although the group abandoned a lot of the faint thrash influences present on Dreams of Endless War by this point, Lindroos and Ranta remain exceptional soloists. If there is one thing Norther never, ever forgot it was how to write immersing, striking solos with minimum wankery. The rhythm section is typical melodic death and Maiden worship. The guitars never exactly break through the space-time continuum in the speed category, always settling into that aforementioned mid-paced tempo save for some of the more impressive leadwork. The whole mix seems glossed over with a vague abrasive touch. This hurts some of the guitars as they begin to lose some of their thickness at the cost of the added distortion. For the most parts leads are supple, but tend to get a little squealy depending on what song you are on; I blame the production. Petri's harsh screaming is stretched even further here, his voice sounds like it is almost going to audibly crack. There are some gutturals and deviations, and Ranta actually delivers some more than passable cleans during "A Fallen Star". Koskinen has always stood out to me, as he always gets more of a spotlight than most bassists do. For example, "The Cure" rides out on an awesome groove section for the last minute or so. This is the highlight of the album. Everything comes together for about a minute and a half, with a heavily distorted bass counterpointing the riffs and emotive keys. For a minute I remember why I used to love this band so much.

Then I come back down to Earth thanks to Toni Hallio's lame drumming. I swear, he never turned off auto-pilot for the entire four albums he recorded with Norther. Heikki Saari would blow him totally out of the water after Hallio departed the group in 2006 to get married. This brings us to Planman's keyboards. He has more of a presence here than any other Norther album, albeit from a more atmospheric standpoint most of the time. His leads are a bit too overdone and exaggerated, but he does drive some great emotive solo sections home in the otherwise average "Nothing" and "A Fallen Star". The latter of which I am almost embarrassed to admit is one of my favorite keyboard solos of all time. He isn't a constant presence, such as on the title track; however he alone helps make "The Cure" the best song on here. Seriously, don't miss that one, it has some of the more inventive leadwork on the guitars and even Hallio sort of wakes up for this one. One more small point to touch on is that "Beneath" is a great instrumental, probably the best they've ever done.

The following LP Till Death Unites Us would fix some of the problems present here while introducing some more aggravating ones. After that things begin to fall apart swiftly for Norther. Death Unlimited is an easy album to hate, but it has some merits, they're still mostly there at this point.

This is NO Bodom Ripoff, 10X Better! - 97%

ict1523, June 12th, 2006

I never understood what people had against Norther. Playing the same genre is about as close as they get, Norther sounds much better than Children of Bodom ever has, and ever will. Norther has a much darker sound, better solos, and Petri is an awesome vocalist, with his vocals sounding both very harsh and very strong, a quality that Alexi does not have. Norther also has stayed true to their style and are not taking the path of Children of Bodom...at least so far. If this album does anything, it makes Norther sound even more different than Children of Bodom and not more like it.

Now to the songs. First of all the song structure is generally similar in all Norther songs. They have a verse, chorus, verse, chorus, then there are often solos before they repeat the chorus again. Its a very catchy structure, and knowing you'll get solos, both by keyboard and guitar towards the end of the song is always great to know, because Norther definitely know how to make really catchy solos.

The album starts off with a great intro that sets the mood and leads into a great song "Deep Inside". The song starts off with a very catchy riff that almost sounds like its bouncing due to the pitch changing. When the vocals kick in they sound very harsh and almost strong, which gives them a much better quality and is why I love Petri's vocals. The solo is very melodic and high pitched. Love it.

Next up is "Death Unlimited" which is probably one of Norther's best songs overall. It doesn't start off sounding very promising, but then we get Petri coming in with his vocals at full force, and the song gets way more catchy. I also love when the instruments stop and Petri shouts "Fuck You and die!". When he finishes the songs explodes once again and gets even better as the chorus comes in. The chorus also has almost like a group shout for some of the words. The solo on here is also another very melodic one, this one better than most others because of its variety, it changes tone constantly, going from high to low pitched, and it is incredibly fast. It is also quite a long one which can only be looked upon as an advantage. Petri's vocals on this song are probably the best.

"Chasm" starts off much more calmly, quite a change from the last song, which was just fast as hell and really bombastic. But when the vocals come in, the song picks up speed and gets heavier. The chorus is also pretty good. It is one of the slower and less catchy songs however it is still good. And the solo is good as well, here it is saved for the end.

"Vain" is probably the best song on this album. It wastes no time and goes straight to the point, from the beginning it is heavy and fast. I just absolutely love the verses with the vocals sounding extremely powerful and angry. The guitar riffs during the verses are also simply amazing. The chorus isn't as good as the verses here, however that doesn't take away any from the song as a whole. The song gets a bit quieter then before exploding again in time for the next verse. We have both a keyboard and guitar solo on this song, and they both last pretty long, from 2:52 to 3:39.

"A Fallen Star" starts off great, with great riffs, a bombasting drum beat, and great synths which show up quite a bit on this song and make it much more pleasant to listen to. We have at least 3 solos on here, all of them of great quality, some of the best Norther have ever produced. Another great song, and quite lengthy by Norther, and it really doesn’t disappoint.

“The Cure” is another good song, but you have to get past the intro before it really gets enjoyable, as the intro sounds pretty boring with heavy but unmelodic riffs, but it does get much better with much more melodic influences as well as Petri’s voice. This is though, probably the only song on the album that doesn’t have a very notable solo. Although good it is one of the weaker ones on the album.

“Day of Redemption” is next and this is the longest song on the album clocking in at 6:34. The riffs at the beginning of the song sound pretty generic but then the synths come in giving the song a much nicer atmosphere, and the melody changes to a much sadder one as the vocals come in, with the guitars and synths still present. Although lengthy it is a great song, with some very good soloing. Once again melodic and very changeable solos. Just as soon as it quiets down and you think the solo is done it kicks up again.

“Beneath” is an instrumental. It is nothing compared to “Frozen Sky” off of Mirror of Madness which is one of the best instrumentals ever produced, however it is still enjoyable, and the most important thing is that it keeps the sad mood of the album with the quiet acoustic guitars and a nice atmospheric melody in the background. It feels sad and peaceful, the peaceful part is quite a change from most of the album.

“Hollow” starts off pretty nice with melodic riffs and a quick solo almost right at the beginning of the song. The vocals are great on here, pretty powerful. This is a heavy song with a great and speedy chorus with group shouting. Lots of soloing going on in this song as well which makes it all the more enjoyable. Towards the end, we have a much longer solo as well, all the melodic soloing, both from the guitars and keyboard give this song much more variety, and it keeps the listener interested throughout.

“Nothing” is probably the second or third best song on here. It is another rather lengthy song and isn’t quite as fast as the others, however the atmosphere on here is simply amazing, as well as Norther being able to place the feeling of sadness and anger into the listener. It sounds like a very symphonic song at times, which is great too, and it really feels like Petri is trying his best at his vocals on here, and is really trying to make you feel the power of the song. The solo towards the end is an automatic classic, not as fast as the others, but melodic, lots of variety in it, ranges from high to low pitched very quickly numerous times. Quite a lengthy solo as well lasting almost 40 seconds. Then we get another different solo towards the end of the song around 4:50, this one being a keyboard solo and it lasts till about 5:05, then picks up again around 5:10 and lasts till 5:28. Absolutely amazing song.

“Going Nowhere” starts off with a pretty cool riff that almost has a hint of techno before the heavy guitars kick in. The song sounds a bit different than the rest of the songs on the album with its different riffs. They have a bit more melodic and higher pitched sound than the rest of the songs even with the heavy guitars. The vocals are very powerful here as well. The song quiets down for a bit towards the middle, and then picks up again with a beautiful solo.

This album really is amazing. You may not like it at first though, as it takes a while to sink in, but once you really get to know the album you will realize it is NOT a copy of Children of Bodom. Norther impresses me in many different aspects ranging from the awesome guitars, to the fast as hell solos, to the great vocals. This album is practically flawless. Definitely Norther’s best so far.

A Heavier, Stronger, Better, Norther. - 94%

AngelofBreath, April 14th, 2006

They keep on getting better and better. I wasn’t entirely sure aboot this when I got hold of it but it’s proved itself as a cracking album. My thoughts on first hearing it were yeah it’s good in parts, mainly referring to the title track which is a real belter. But on further more careful listening the songs really blaze and soar at times with a real intensity absent from previous releases. It is successful as an album in simultaneously marrying the recent development of aggression and heaviness with the blending of the remainder of their sound, which has been lacking in Norther as a band up until this point, being more inclined towards a power metalish sound with a little bit more edge initially. This is heavier however, and is a truly brilliant album for it.

The symphonic bite to many of the songs too, has tremendous results, particularly on songs like “the Cure” and “Nothing”, and it’s hear that Norther for me really mark themselves out as a band. It’ll also hopefully go some way from distancing them from ‘that other band’ which there’s been comparison to consistently. This was justified a little while ago, but surely not anymore. Norther have proven with this release that they stand apart with their own sound and, for my money, are the superior band; each of the songs on this release have a uniqueness lacking in Children of Boredom’s approach. Yes they use similar tones and timbres in the instruments and vocal approach. Get over it. All you need to do to hear the difference is just listen (big surprise huh?). Norther have demonstrated beyond doubt on this release that they are now doing their own thing and have a different approach to CoB, mostly in the writing of the songs with varying tempos, and having the ability to let the songs breathe more overall. Having said that there’s still plenty of thrashy faster numbers with really great shredding like “Death Unlimited” and “Deep Inside” alongside the other numbers. There is a great deal of variety on this record too, shown by the placing of songs like “Hollow”, which sit happily (at least as ‘happily’ as Norther get) side by side with “Nothing” and its miserable midpaced whirlwind of pounding melody on one side, and “Beneath” on the other, a pleasant chilly and very beautiful keyboard led instrumental.

The Guitars are convincing; plenty of riffing and shreddy fast , as well as classy, soloing. The vocals and lyrics aptly fit and add an emotional edge to many of the songs if you’re into that sort of thing (“I fear the darkness, that makes me blind, there’s no one I can see, these tears are nothing without you, I am Nothing without you ”, to the slightly more aggressive; “Fuck You and DIE!”). The bass is well placed. The drumming pounds and hammers appropriately at the right places with an equally fine nose for composition, and Tuomas Planman too shows talent, aptitude and brilliance with his keyboard arrangements, and putting in place what will best fit the mood and situation. Indeed the entire band on this release have really managed to really fit and blend as a band, creating a seamless sound where each instrument occupies its area and shines without overstepping its allotted fragment.

But I digress. It Rules! (if unhappy with this phrase replace with “It Kicks Ass” or, if you must, replace either of the words “Rules” or “Kicks” with the term; “Owns”….shudder). Norther have really stepped up the force with this release and improved on their sound. They are a very talented and competent band, and have bags of creativity and song writing ability to boot and it’s a bit of a shame that they’re so overlooked compared to maybe CoB, and the rest of the metal community seems to have its attention elsewhere at the moment. Never mind eh? Awesome band. An awesome, beautiful CD. No more to say.

NO Bodom rip - 99%

When_I_unleash_hell, February 27th, 2005

I was a big fan of Norther ever since I heard them. From the start, I've alway thought they far surpassed Children of Bodom. Their songs are far better structured and sound a LOT less forced than the majority of the Bodom songs. But when I popped in this album, I felt disappointment at first. They had taken a step further away from CoB by putting in a sound with a lot rougher edge and not quite as smooth as their former two albums.

However, I soon discovered that I had been listening to it with the wrong attitude. Don't think about the first two albums when listening to this; the sound has changed quite a bit while still remaining Norther, the best Power-Death mix out there.

It starts off with a nice intro, that does what it should: setting the tone for the rest of the album.

Deep Inside, the first full song, blasts you away from the start. The epic guitar and totally outrageous drums blast full force into your brain and drag you along its melody. Once the chorus sets in, there's a nice shouting between lead vocals and shouting team. It finishes off with a nice mix of guitar and keyboard. Though a good song, certainly not one of my favorites on the album. The chorus starts to sound a little cheesy after listening them a couple of times.

Death Unlimited is up next. Fast as hell, with a nice dark feeling to it. A great moment is somewhere in the first half of the song, where all instruments fall still for a moment and then it blasts into your ears: "FUCK YOU AND DIE!" The chorus rocks on this one, but it's nothing like the totally insane solo half-way across. Awesome song.

Chasm starts out calmer, with a good riff ticking along. It rocks to hear they can also put some calmth into their songs, and control it perfectly. The chorus features the shouting crew again, but a lot better then on Deep Inside. Then it suddenly gets calm, while Planman pulls out a nice little rythm from his keyboards. Slowly warming up, it shifts into the final two choruses. One of the better songs as well.

Vain is a great song from the start. Behind Lindroos' aggressive vocals are some great guitar and keyboard riffs, until it suddenly drops into a soft melodic series of chords, with Lindroos going into the background. as he shouts out his anger, the riffs come back, and soon burst into one of Norther's best qualities: an awesome keyboard riff, followed by a rocking guitar solo, supported by the keyboards once again. The whole song is an exclamation mark on the fact that Norther knows what it's doing. At the ending of the song, you can start to hear the next song coming, one of my favs on the album.

It's called A Falling Star, and it can be rougly divided in two parts: the vocals and the solos. The band goes all out on this one, both fast and epic, awesome lyrics, and what'dya know: clean vocals, electronically enhanced, on the chorus, marking the Power roots Norther knows it has. Then come the solos, and here is where Norther rules supreme, far surpassing CoB. Planman kicks out the best keyboard solo ever, but they don't give you the time to let that feeling fade before a brilliant guitar solo sets in. This is almost a religious experience. After a top-high notch, they give you some time to come to your senses with a little calmer, short last solo, and then a last chorus. It fades out with a stream of keyboard chords.

Then comes The Cure. Not quite as catchy as most of the other songs, I think this is one of my least favorites. Still, when Lindroos sings: "Twisted faces all within me
Constant laughter that no one hears" while he and Ranta whip out some good guitar riffs, you still rock out.

The most epic song on the album is this one: Day of Redemption. Right from the start it busts your ears with a mix of slow, powerful guitars, and matching keyboard chords, combined to a powerful song about suicide and forgiving. The chorus takes the epical proportions even a notch higher, whilst the solos are almost like a pause from the powerful blasts. After the last solo, it suddenly builds back up to the gargantuan chorus. One of my favorite songs on the album as well, though my absolute favorite is yet to come still.

Beneath is one of the best instrumental songs ever, though not surpassing Frozen Sky from the Mirror of Madness album. It features surprisingly soft, yet powerful piano-like keyboards, amidst a whirl of soft underlying chords. Excellent feature as a break from the rage.

Hollow starts out with a very catchy melody, diving into the great and powerful riffs they produce throughout the album. The shouting on the chorus works nowhere as good as it does here: "LOST! HOLLOW! TO! FOLLOW!" Combined with Lindroos's awesome vocals, an excellent team. And the guitar riffs still keep on rocking.

And now my favorite song, still one of my all time favorites: Nothing. The despair can almost be touched here, as Lindroos shouts out the hollow feeling in his soul over an excellent, yet simple riff. Then suddenly, it bursts into a keyboard-guitar fest, blowing you totally outta here. After it went back to the riff playing throughout the whole song, it turns out it bursts into the same all-out epic melody at the chorus. The solos hereafter rock even more, mixing guitars and keyboards, playing with the stereo-effects, some awesome high-pitched notes, and still everything fits together like the pieces of a jigsaw puzzle. When it finally ends it feels like a ride down a rollercoaster in a haunted mansion.

The final song has a typical Encore feel to it: a slayerfest, perfectly fit for a last giant moshpit. going Nowhere also features, like amost any song here, a great chorus, where Lindroos gets some backing vocals behind the shouting.

Overall, this is still one of my favorite albums ever. The cons are so small and rare that they're hardly noticable in the flood of melodic power and death that bursts over you in the 51 minutes the album takes up. Some songs will keep you coming back again and again. Forget Children of Bodom, Norther is the Metal King of Finland!

Now THIS is a Children of Bodom rip ... - 55%

LifeInAFireBox, January 22nd, 2005

When I first heard Norther with Dream of Endless War, I said - "Damn, this is good." When refering them to people I would say, "They kinda sound like Bodom." The operative word being *kinda*. I heard Mirror of Madness, and by that point, I was noticing their perhaps further pursuit of the Bodom sound, but, it still had some differences like a bit more of an orchestral sound. But here ... on Death Unlimited, is where I drew the line, and gave up.

Any creativity the band did have, is now gone. I could probably get away with writing a one sentence review; because I'm pretty sure everyone in the known universe has heard Children of Bodom, and the review would be this: "Exactly like Bodom but none of the magic."

The vocals, weaker version of Laiho's vocals. With the addition of the "gang vocals" which aren't even done as good. The guitar and keyboard try to replicate the sound as well ... very melodic speed/death metal, but they forgot one thing: only CoB can do it like that. The drum playing, (which I don't even consider to be a highlight of Bodom) isn't even doin' it for me. There's a vast lack of fills, and an overload of simplistic, straightforward parts. The beats can all be broken down to counts of one two, one two, one two ...

Their solos even attempt to sound the same. Be it keyboard or guitar ... this is the saddest part of the whole deal. Their guitarist could never pull of the classical feel. The eerie beauty. The pure speed, and brilliant technicality that Alexi (or any other top metal guitarist) can put into their riffage and solos.

Okay, I won't base this whole review around a comparison. (Though, it's difficult not to) The structuring in the songs is poor. It's one repetitive with after another, they just run right into one another, like two cars hitting head-on. They don't flow, they don't have carry over melodies, they don't do anything really clever. (Minus the outro on Chasm where they have a very mellow sounding part fade out into sounding like an old radio - but the riff itself isn't anything special...)

I noticed as well, that the vocals are completely marred, by him having an effect on them the entire time. I don't know if this is for some sort of effect (if so, it failed horrendously) or if he just can't get the harshness he wants. But it sounds like shit - plain and simple. By the end of the CD, you'll want to strangle him.

Oh, and the fast songs are bad enough, though they still hold some level of entertainment, like the title track, the slow tracks are just boring as Hell. Monotony unlimited - that's what it is. The solos hurt especially here ... they aren't soaring, moving, powerful solos ... they're weak, contrived, bland solos ...

Norther: You were good at first, but this is where I draw the line. Nothing memorable, nothing special.

Reader of this review: Try Dreams of Endless War, and if you like that, then consider Mirror of Madness, but end there, even if you like the first two. This CD is pretty worthless.

(Oh yeah - Ensiferum's self titled is one of my favorite CD's of all time - I'm ashamed at Petri, and if you've heard both discs, you would be too.)