Artist: Winterborn
Title: Farewell To Saints
Type: Album
Label: Massacre
Boasting a largely indefinable, markedly modern sound quality, Finnish power pioneers, Winterborn, present their latest epic offering. Following their relatively recent inception in 2004 and a bewildering number of line-up changes thereafter, ‘Farewell To Saints’ is the band's most eclectic, painstakingly realised release to date.
A welcome departure from the simpering, fantastical realms of their flightier contemporaries, Winterborn's high-octane tendencies are forged from the very tangible reality of existential angst. In spite of this notably more grounded, sophisticated approach, ‘Farewell’s…’ creative content is by no means curtailed, as is evidenced by the vibrant wealth of classical and extreme nuances, which unfold with each uncommonly diverse track. With its abrasive, thrash-tinged chord progressions and percussive rhythm section, the aptly-entitled, ‘Chaos Dwells Within’ constitutes a dramatic revision of the power metal archetype. Frontman, Teemu Koskela’s soaring, climactic falsettos maintain a certain degree of tradition, bordering ever so slightly on the overblown and predictable. In addition to the ubiquitous keyboard-laden, ambient embellishments, these undeniably generic vocal exertions are, on occasion, somewhat incongruous alongside its frequently savage, guitar-driven refrains.
Showcasing increased singularity in style, ‘Seven Deadly Sins’ is an altogether more coherent instalment. Its imaginative lyricism and decadent, orchestral harmonies generate an overwhelmingly melodramatic, explosive end result. Faintly bittersweet, though predominantly euphoric in flavour, each hook-laden chorus is tailor-made for a powerfully infectious impact. Illustrating still greater accessibility, ‘Emptiness Inside’s’ slow-burning bass bridges and symphonic flourishes exude a mournful, highly evocative tone. In spite of these various redeeming virtues, this piece concludes on inescapably ostentatious, contrived terms.
‘Last Man Standing’ exhibits considerably greater technical complexity, opening on an unexpectedly agile, muscular succession of riffs. Although Winterborn’s trademark capacity for crafting contagious melodies remains a consistent fixture throughout, present-day, extreme elements also arise at fitful, frequently arresting intervals. Its bone-splintering axemanship and lavish, industrial grooves are reconciled fittingly with fierce, oft-guttural vocal exertions, rendering ‘Last Man Standing’ arguably the most captivating facet of ‘Farewell…’ Fondly nostalgic and, above all, poignantly emotive, ‘Land of the Free’ encompasses both supreme musicianship and, above all, a heartfelt tribute to today’s doomed generation. Irrespective of Winterborn’s penchant for 70s-inspired psychedelia, ‘Farewell…’ also accommodates a distinctly current aspect, apparent in instrumental and lyrical respects alike.
While the band’s present endeavour ventures valiantly beyond the rather outdated, lacklustre confines of the power genre, this moderate deviation from the norm may fail to sate the appetites of the more aggressively-inclined. Minor discrepancies aside, however, ‘Farewell…’ guarantees, by all accounts, an aesthetically pleasing, instrumentally superb aural experience.
http://www.winterborn.info/
http://www.myspace.com/winterbornband
http://www.massacre-records.com/
Faye Coulman
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