Deceptic-The Artifact

Dead End Exit Records
2014

Their Facebook page describes their own sound as  "Modern Melodic Progressive Metal". That's sort of a catch all description right? That's Göteborg, Sweden's Deceptic for you. What began in the "early and cold coast of Gothenburg" in the year of 2011 has slowly transformed into the band that stands before you now. That band currently features the following members:

William Gustafsson - Vocals
Tony Gullquist - Guitars
Dennis Svensson - Drums 
Otto Halling - Bass
Martin Carlenfors - Guitars

 




The only thing is both Otto Halling and Martin Carlenfors came on-board after the recording of "The Artifact". And speaking of "The Artifact" it sounds as if this (long worked on) album was a self-produced/self-recorded project that then benefited greater from having Tue Madsen From Ant Farm Studios (famous for working with bands like The Haunted, Dir En Grey, Mnemic, Dark Tranquility etc.) mix and master the recordings when they were all wrapped up. Oh, and then there is the fact that it was only AFTER the band had the masters of "The Artifact" in their hands that they went out and looked for a record label! So, in a very real way this is a D.I.Y. project. While there was a 2011 EP released from the band it featured a different line-up then the one we see today. And besides, "The Artifact" is what we are talking about today and for the band Deceptic all of the hard work and patience sure seems to have paid off! Deceptic's "The Artifact" practically jumps out of the speakers with opener "Heart Of The Swarm" and (fair warning here so pay heed!) it rarely lets up even as this Swedish band explores other genre elements such as melodic hardcore, alternative metal and even metalcore. Vocally-speaking William Gustafsson excels at both singing and doing the whole heavy screaming thing (there's even some near death metal growls going on here!) and his (studio) brother's in arms (Tony Gullquist and Dennis Svensson) play with such fury and energy that you'd swear that there was a full-fledged backing band in play the whole time! Deceptic has a lot going for them and based on this LP, their first-full length endeavor and an album that I let soak in spin after glorious spin, they have the talent and enthusiasm to really make a go for it! This one will drop in late August although it sounds as if a single from "The Artifact" will be made available before that time as a bit of a teaser! You can find out more about Deceptic here: https://www.facebook.com/Deceptic/timeline

The Unguided-Fragile Immortality

Napalm Records
2014

Formed in 2010, following Richard Sjunnesson departure from Sonic Syndicate over an apparent disagreement over the new musical direction that was being chosen by said band, Sweden's The Unguided, which also features Roger Sjunnesson and former members of Sonic Syndicate, are a difficult band to put to paper. Dubbed "melodic death metal" by many, which would seem to be lazy description given everything that this band brings to the party (or at least on their sophomore full-length album "Fragile Immortality"), this Swedish band stretches the musical boundaries of death metal while unleashing an album that is far too good to be ignored! After a few spins of this release (the first full-length studio album from The Unguided since 2011's "Hell Frost") "Fragile Immortality" left me with more than just a favorable impression! Is this another album in the early running then for my 2014 "Best Of" list? I'd say so. Music-wise Sweden's The Unguided could be seen as Sonic Syndicate part two. Or at least where Sonic Syndicate should have headed before they went off into this odd pop direction! That much I do realize. But, before we look over why I love this release so much let's look at who is who in this Swedish metal band. Harsh vocals are taken care of by Richard Sjunnesson (ex-Fallen Angels, ex-Amaranthe (live), ex-Faithful Darkness, ex-Sonic Syndicate) while Roland Johansson (ex-Sonic Syndicate, ex-Dodge), who is also the band's lead guitarist, handles the clean ones. Meanwhile Richard's brother Roger (ex-Sonic Syndicate, ex-Fallen Angels) plays rhythm guitar and performs the keyboard parts while Henric Liljesand (Cipher System, ex-Eternal Grief, Lavett, ex-Nightrage, ex-Dead by April) plays bass. Drum duties fall to the capable hands of Richard Schill (Acacia, Level Above Human, Vile Scar, ex-Livsnekad, ex-Shining, ex-Spawn of Possession). OK, with that out of the way let's see if I can (hopefully) pin-point what it is about The Unguided that I find so appealing. I admit (begrudgingly) that you could start with "melodic death metal". All of the elements that make for a good melodic death metal band are here. Great musicians playing death metal with clean lines and precision-timing. Melodic passages that give way to brutal lead guitar solos (Roland Johansson provides seriously wicked guitar work throughout this album!) and keyboard parts that create beauty out of what would otherwise be seen as pure darkness. The new band has all that down pat. However, a release like this one is also different then the bulk of melodic death metal bands thanks to the expert way in which the band utilizes both harsh and clean. The harsh vocals provided by Richard Sjunnesson are pure death growls. It's death metal 101 and Richard does it near perfectly. Then you have the clean vocals of Roland Johansson and, to put in bluntly, here we have an individual who could EASILY be fronting his own heavy/power metal outfit! Yes, he is that good! It's not enough that you have one band that is blessed with TWO excellent lead singers. All of which shows how good a band like The Unguided is in just in regards to that one department alone! But, and this will sound weird coming from me, the one thing that really kicks up this release another notch isn't the vocal interplay but rather the very cool keyboards! The best way I could describe them (and this is odd folks) is if you were to pluck the keyboard parts from some of the better synth rock/new wave acts of eighties and (maybe) some of the more unique keyboard work of  90's alternative rock/shoeglaze bands and, after giving them a more "modern metal" once-over, squished them into a Swedish melodic death band with dreams of world conquest! On one hand it's weird and yet, somehow and someway, it's always quite infectious! When it's placed next to metallic, near thrash-like guitar riffs you would think that it wouldn't work right? But it really does and it's that kind of balance which, just like the harsh and clean vocal combination, lifts this one above merely "interesting" into "excellent"! Needless to say "Fragile Immortality" is one new release that is highly recommended!

deMOTIONAL-State: In Denial

Dead End Exit Records
2013

 
It sure seems as if we've come a long way when Youtube helps break a band. Gone are the days of demos I guess. Although maybe this is just Youtube's apology for cursing mankind with "Bieber Fever"? Is it giving us another chance at redemption perhaps? Whatever the case, and since I'm actually up to the challenge of listening to "melodic modern metal-core", I checked out this new six-piece band. As alluded to deMOTIONAL (yes, that is really how they display their name) first hit the scene with the Kristofer "Kiggs" Carlsson directed music video "When She Cries". At the time (2009) the band, which was formed by guitarist/song-writer Sebastian Fjordevik,  was really more of a project although the 12,000 views on Youtube and 18,000 visitors on Myspace (that still exists?) convinced Fjordevik that it could be so much more. At that point it was just Fjordevik, vocalists Christopher Kristensen & Nils-Petter Nilsson and veteran death metal drummer Tommy Magnusson stirring the boat. Guitarist Johan Olofsson and bassist Kristoffer Lindh were the last on board and, soon enough, this young started playing live in their native Sweden. One thing that helped set them apart (and is a highlighted point of interest on their promo) was the fact that they were "well dressed". As you can see they are a dapper bunch. But, let's face it looks will only get you so far in metal right?

All of that brings us then to "State: In Denial", the band's full-length debut album. Music-wise what do we have? Well, the two vocalists on hand should give you one clue (or at least offer one suggestion). Nils-Petter Nilsson is the clean vocalist while Christopher Kristensen pretty much just screams. So, you've got some screamo/metalcore-like tendencies there. Neither is overly offensive although Christopher Kristensen actually sounds as if he should be/could be fronting a emo band instead of a heavy metal one. That's neither good nor bad but rather just an observation. If you were to just strip away the clean/screams vocals then what you'd end up with a fairly heavy band offering a mix of metalcore, modern metal and melodic death metal. I'd hesitate then to just label them "melodic modern metal-core" as they do "dip their toes" (as it were) into other genres. Overall though this one seems to be clearly aimed at the metalcore kids. Therein lies a slight problem. While the songs are all solid, and the band members themselves all technically experienced, as with a lot of modern/metalcore bands these days the tracks start to blur together after awhile. The lighter "Gone" being an exception the bulk of this album follows a fairly similar theme/vibe. Taken in smaller does songs like "Alive" and "When She Cries" are enjoyable. Especially as the care given to making them both melodic and mental is obvious. As a whole though it's tough to jump up and down with joy over.What are we to make of Sweden's latest export deMOTIONAL then? I'd describe them as promising, but in need of experience. Give these six well-dressed gentlemen time to mature as songwriters and you very well could be onto something.