Music: Power Metal
Country: Germany
Website: www.symphorce.net
Cool Songs: Darkness Fills the Sky, Condemned
Become Death is the newest release by the German power metal act, SYMPHORCE. Having begun in 1998, SYMPHORCE consists of BRAINSTORM member Andy B. Franck handling vocal duties and Markus Pohl of MYSTIC PROPHECY playing guitar along with other recognized musicians from the power metal scene.
Become Death is an amalgamation of metal styles that culminates in power metal. Francks vocals alternate between Warrel Dane wails and more aggressive, one-step- away-from-hardcore vocals. The music steers away from the thin, classic metal guitars that seem to be the norm in todays power metal scene. Instead, the guitar duo plays down-tuned, aggressive slabs of mid-paced thrashin grooves. Some passages show the band picking up the pace with modern Swedish thrash bands in mind like CARNAL FORGE or DARKANE. Two tracks that exemplify the bands heavier, near death style are Darkness Fills the Sky and Lost But Found. Keep in mind, though, the band changes the pace and style throughout most of their songs, keeping the music from getting stale. Even though the majority of the bands guitar playing is chunky and bruising, there are many moments of melody, especially to introduce a song or end a track.
Keyboard passages add a hint of the dramatic or lend a spacey tone. The keyboards on Condemed bring out a trippy vibe, giving the song an industrial feel. In the Hopes of a Dream features sad piano notes, which are reminiscent of ANGEL DUST. The keyboards are never over bearing, yet add another dimension of emotion and cerebral textures to the music.
The diverse, passionate vocals are my favorite aspect of Become Death. Francks vocals have the same moving conviction and eerie echo of NEVERMOREs Warrel Dane. The group knows how to pen catchy chorus lines to drill Francks vocals into the listeners mind. The albums opener Darkness Fills the Sky contains one of the albums catchier choral lines. On other tracks, Franck shows his knack for emulating other vocal styles found within this genre. He dons a style similar to QUEENSRYCHEs Geoff Tate on Lies and Towards the Light.
The reviews Ive read for Become Death have been mixed, to say the least. Some reviewers felt the down-tuning of the guitars lent the album a nu metal feeling. I dont agree with that statement, I felt the musics tuning and style made the music heavier. Another complaint was that all the musical styles do not fit. I experienced that thought when I first listened to the album; however, after a few spins the music seemed to mesh better, and the catchy choruses made me forget about the albums flaws.
note: 7.5/10
Tracklist
1. Darkness Fills The Sky
2. Condemned
3. In The Hope Of A Dream
4. Death Has Come
5. Inside The Cast
6. No Final Words To Say
7. Towards The Light
8. Ancient Prophecies
9. Lost But Found
10. Lies
Total playing time 52:06
Line-up
Andy B. Franck – Vocals
Cedric C. Dupond – Guitars
Markus Pohl – Guitars
Dennis Wohlbold – Bass
Steffen Theurer – Drums
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