Coldseed - Completion Makes The Tragedy

* =Staff's pick	My Affliction* Democracy Lesson* Nothing But A Loser* Five More To Fix Burning With A Shade Low On My Way Reflection* Completion Makes The Tragedy* Hatchet Vulture Of The Throne At Last

Genre	Metal	Björn Strid	Vocals
Tracks	11	Thorsten Praest	Guitar
Runningtime	47 Min.	Gonsalo A. López	Guitar
Label	Nuclear Blast	Oli Holzwarth	Bass
Release	30 June 2006	Thomen Stauch	Drums
Country	Sweden/Germany/Spain	Mi Schüren	Keyboards
Similar artists	Rammstein, Paradise Lost

One can't blame Björn "Speed" Strid (Soilwork) of being idle; he's currently the vocalist of four separate metal bands, two of whom releases albums the very same week this summer. All the Soilwork-fans who are curious about both releases but can only afford one needs to make a choice here. From a materialistic point of view, Speed's other band Disarmonia Mundi can pretty much be seen as "Soilwork with Italians", while Coldseed is much harder to classify. So which is the way to go, a safe bet or something new?

Speed is not alone on this journey; with him is a group of practised German musicians, amongst them the Savage Cirkus-drummer Thomen Stauch, once a member in Blind Guardian. There are some German influences to be heard here, mostly ones that recall of Rammstein, in stomping tracks like My Affliction and Democracy Lesson. Some might argue that the keyboard melodies found throughout Completion Makes The Tragedy belong in the 80s, but they actually help getting Coldseed the distinct sound they have strived for.

Even if the song writing is mostly of the impressive kind, there are moments when the album stalls. Burning With A Shade feels like an experiment that refuses to take off, while Five More To Fix reminds of Speed's humorous side-project Terror 2000, albeit unfunny. But there are also times when Coldseed really hits it home. On the track Reflection, Speed delivers vocals that haven't been heard since the Soilwork-ballad Departure Plan. Even better is the title track, thanks to its furious riffs and the magnificent chorus. Perhaps I'm a little biased since Speed sounds like my idol Dave Gahan (of Depeche Mode) when he sings the refrain, but few can neglect that the song has great potential.

If the guys take their time to polish and focus their material a bit more next time, chances are that this seed will blossom into something truly grand.

Production	Vocals	Compositions
8	8	7

Summary
7,5 chalices of 10 - Niklas