Candlelight Records
2011
It would be unfair to just label Chicago, Illinois act The Living Fields as simply symphonic metal. If anything the music is much more eclectic than the majority of acts within said genre. While this is the first album of theirs to include a real string section, courtesy of violinist/violist Chuck Bontrager and cellist Petar Kecenovici the music still pulls influences out of thin air and plants them wherever they can find room. Sometimes it works and sometimes it doesn't. That is the chance you take when you mix and mash thrash, black, viking and epic metal. The album plays like it means business from the start and the eight album cuts do create certain moods and themes yes. But unfairly or not things tend to blur together and get lost with so much going on. This is the type of album that requires frequent revisits to let things soak in otherwise you'll miss out. It also requires a certain degree of patience as honestly there were moments presented when I was ready to move on to another cut and sadly the song wasn't. That is the risk you take when your songs average around 9 minutes a pop. I'd like to pull for this album more as it is quite the adventure but like any adventure things can get tiring. Frankly that was the case. This presents itself as an album where you need to set aside time to let it soak in. Time is a precious thing though so venture at your own risk.
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