Mob Rules - Cannibal Nation |
Published October 13 2012
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Close My Eyes |
| Genre | Melodic Heavy Metal |
Klaus Dirks
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Vocals
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| Tracks | 9 |
Matthias Mineur
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Guitar
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| Running time | 49 Min. |
Sven Lüdke
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Guitar
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| Label | AFM Records |
Markus Brinkmann
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Bass
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| Release | 19 October 2012 |
Nikolas Fritz
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Drums
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| Country | Germany |
Jan Christian Halfbrodt
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Keyboard
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| Producer | - | ||
| Similar artists | --- | ||
Seventh full length album from German melodic metallers Mob Rules. A band that arose with the power metal wave in the late nineties and has kind of suffered from that label ever since, even if they never actually were a band of that genre. Everything always have to be labeled and back then naming them as power metal seemed like the easy way out and most bands had no trouble with that, as it was an up and coming motion and publicity never hurt.
When first listening to Cannibal Nation, my initial thought was lack of diversity, as most of the songs follows the same written path. Melodic heavy metal, with some progressive elements and with rather small, but present, influences of power metal. Their sound hasn't changed significantly from their past work, just a natural progress between records. Still somewhat catchy and captivating, but it doesn't reach all the way up to the high standards on the predecessors. I like most of the guitarplay with all the hooks and Mr. Dirks is a doing a good vocal performance. The drumplay however feels kind of monotonous from time to time, even if the actual drumming isn't bad.
A couple of songs stand out. The title track, with its speed, chorus and its hooks and leads. The first single off the album, the seven minute semi-ballad Ice & Fire, is also one of my favorites with a beautiful and tranquil opening and later on reaching climax. The Sirens has a solid and steady flow and somehow it touches me in a way I can't explain. It's just a good song, I guess.
Cannibal Nation has its up and downs, but all in all, it's a good record, even if a few songs would qualify in as just decent. Pretty much near what someone could expect from Mob Rules. I can tell you one thing for sure. If you like their past efforts, there's no reason to not buy this record.
See
also review of: Tales
From Beyond , Timekeeper
- 20th Anniversary Box , Ethnolution
A.D. , Among The Gods
, Hollowed Be Thy
Name , Temple Of
Two Suns
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Performance
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Originality
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Production
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Vocals
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Songwriting
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6 |
5 |
7 |
7 |
6 |
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Summary
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6 chalices of 10 - Tobbe |
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Related links: www.mobrules.de |
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