Adversary
has been active since 2003 and 5
years later they release their debut
album, "Singularity".
The huge promoting and marketing
around this band wants us to believe
they sound like a lot of great bands.
Names like Slayer, Lamb of God and
Fear Factory have been mentioned
multiple times. Yet I can't
seem to find a resemblance to any
of these bands. If you would've
said they were influenced by these
bands, I would've agreed, but
still under protest.
This band is textbook
Gothenburg style metal. Melodic death
metal for the ones who are unfamiliar
with the name. There for the only
band that comes to my mind when listening
to these guys is In Flames. Not because
In Flames is the only Gothenburg
band, but because they just sound
like them and share the same musical
style of course. This categorization
and comparison is also the major
downside of this record. It's
all pretty predictable and not very
original. The songs all sound quite
the same. Maybe some more variation
next time, boys. The strong point
of this band however is the vulgar
display of (musical) power. The crunching
guitar work by Ryder and Harrison,
the thundering double bass by Green
and the hardcore like vocals by Clapp.
Oh yes, Tidwell does a great job
too of course. The flow of chemistry
bursts out of my speakers. This is
a band in the purest sense of the
word. Only one record made and they've
already passed the musical level
of some of the bands who went before
them in the Gothenburg genre. Even
In Flames need to keep an eye out,
because these guys are going for
the crown. Certainly since In Flames
are scattered across about every
metal genre except Gothenburg metal,
these days. When you don't
have much time, but still want to
listen to it in your record store
(be it online or not), make sure
you listen to outstanding tracks
like "Singularity", "By
Apathy Undone" and "Ashes
of Faith".
The three mentioned
tracks are worth the purchase of
this excellent piece of work alone.
If you're into
the Gothenburg sound, I just wasted
five minutes of your listening time
of one of the genres best releases
in the last few years.
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