Gospel of Madness

Many metal legends keep on evolving and some even, sadly, totally forgetting their roots. Sometimes a new band is highly influenced with these legends' musical heritage and is actually a much better choice than old evolved legends' new releases. Withering's debut full length album 'Gospel of Madness' is one such a release.

Withering's metal is full of melancholic melodies and vibes. Amorphis' 1994 album 'Tales of the Thousand Lakes' minus the keyboards, Paradise Lost circa 1995 and Sentenced's 'Down' (1997) and newer releases to some extent, and Amon Amarth's sense of melodiousness, come easily to mind when playing 'Gospel...'. Melancholic yet sky-reaching melodies are the highlight here. Sometimes pure Finnish, sometimes very English indeed, never boring if this kind of metal is close to your heart. While this is on the melancholic side, energetic performance from the band and Sentenced-esque rocking beats carry on the songs. Acoustic guitar is used slightly. However, more acoustic parts would have been nice because it adds variety to not too varying song material. I still think synth is not needed, though. Withering doesn't sound a carbon copy of any of the four mentioned bands, because these newcomers have succeeded in injecting something own into this concoction. Or then this mixture is just inventive, even though its formula was waiting to be found for years.

The album was recorded at Tico-Tico Studios and it sounds heavy for sure and nothing too smooth. Growled vocals are, even though varying in one style, a bit of a bore at times. I do not know what's wrong with them, maybe the lack of real anger or something. Even some "raiiii"-growls, which were Amorphis' trademark in the old days, can be heard. A nice touch. The lyrics are mainly about Finnish mindsets, often angry and melancholic. Nothing new for Finniha metal, surely.

I'm not convinced with the later releases from legendary Amorphis and Paradise Lost (however, I do not mean either when writing about bands totally forgetting their roots). This is where Withering step in and save the day. Not a touch of pussy nail varnish goth, but manly metal with melancholic feel to destroy your auditory nerves with. Hopefully Withering will be able to evolve and come up with more originality, because these eleven songs are quite a thorough sample of this style of metal. A good debut album, with some very good songs.

(originally written for ArchaicMetallurgy.com in 2004)

Having nearly 9000 CDs in my collection, it takes a lot for a CD to be played much more often than others. This is one of those CDs, however.

Comparisons to "Tales"-era Amorphis are justified, but also let us also mention the obvious Katatonia/Rapture influences, as well as "viking-esque" riffing and influences as well. While on the "viking-esque" topic... I did notice that the second guitar is tuned just SLIGHTLY flat for that vikingesque feel. Pretty neat trick. At first listen I thought it may have been an oversight in recording. However, being a Finnish music freak and knowing the quality of production coming from this musically superior nation, I'd have to say it was deliberate. It gives some of the tracks a very cool feel.

Withering's "Gospel Of Madness" CD has multiple strong points in the form of standout songs. "Quarrelsome", "On Death's Door", "Two Suns", and ESPECIALLY "Penance" make this CD a 90. There are some "filler" tracks on this disc, but honestly if Withering released the four aforementioned tracks as an EP, it would have been a 100 rating.

Fans of Finnish and Swedish melodic will surely enjoy this CD. This stands taller than many other releases from even Finland. It's a very good CD. I eagerly await the follow-up release.

Within the first few moments of Withering's debut cd, I am immdeiately reminded of modern Sentenced. That is, untill the singer lets our a roar and the lead guitar starts doing it's thing, and it ends up sounding largely comparable to Tales From the Thousand Lakes era Amorphis. This Finnish band obviously has the whole 'Finnish sound' incorporated into their brand of dark melodic death metal. And when I speak of dark, I speak of how they also bear some relation to the music of early 90's era Paradise Lost.

Withing may not be purveyors of originality, but as demonstrated by the quality songs on this cd, they certainly play well. This cd will not bore you. The guitar sound is superb, nice and chunky for the rhythm, and the melancholic lead tone losses none of it's balls either. The bass guitar remains solid, providing some extra punch, mainly doing what the guitars are doing. The drums rely on relatively simple but effective patterns, with a few basic fills to add extra enjoyment to the mid paced music. The vocalists voice suits the style and sound of this band like a rubber dress fits a fat chick. He has a lot of talent, singing mostly with his lower growling voice, and occasionaly upping it to a higher pitched screaming rhasp.

So a style that resembles early Amorphis eh? I think we can use as many bands playing this style as possible, especially when they play as well as Withering. A bit unoriginal, but this cd manages to bring the feeling of the days when Amorphis was something fresh, and that is no small task. This cd is highly recommended because seriously, who doesn't like early Amorphis?