Norther - Circle Regenerated

Published April 16 2011

*=Staff's pick	Through It All The Hate I Bear Truth Some Day Break Myself Away* Believe Falling We Do Not Care The Last Time* Closing In*

Genre	Melodic Death Metal	Aleksi Sihvonen	Vocals
Tracks	10	Kristian Ranta	Guitar
Runningtime	43 Min.	Daniel Freyberg	Guitar
Label	Century Media	Jukka Koskinen	Bass
Release	18 April 2011	Haikki Saari	Drums
Country	Finland	Toumas Plannman	Keyboard
Producer	Anssi Kippo	Kristian Ranta	Clean Vocals
Similar artists	Children Of Bodom, Eternal Tears Of Sorrow, Kalmah

There must be something in the finish tap water. When you listen to Norther´s sixth studio album, there is not much doubt from which country they origin. Even though other bands may have a more distinct and recognisable "finish" sound, Norther still have the key elements required; harsh vocals, keyboards, atmosphere and powerful melodies. It´s like a mixture between power metal and death metal. Again; the finish tap water must be tampere(d) with.

The Album starts of with attitude and a little blast beats, heads of into promising swamps of melodies and stays there for quite a while, only occasionally coming out to scream at you and shred your brains to mush. Some songs may seem a bit forcefully pieced together, but that does not really matter when the pieces hold such quality.

It´s easy to just focus on the riffs and melodies when judging, but I think it´s also important to try and estimate how much creativity the band put into it. Some bands (especially the older ones) tend to sometimes produce albums because they have to, and don´t seem to really want to do it, but Norther still seem to have the sheer fun of writing an album within reach. It´s not that they try to break new grounds, but they do not walk in their own footsteps either.

The guys have been playing around, and the album is full of small, small details that, once found, gives a music freak like me great pleasure. Even the guitar solos are interesting and fun, a feat few can do! I also have to give kudos to Jukka for some really impressive basslines.

But, nonetheless, the album does not hold up in the long run. The first few times it´s a really fun album to listen to, but after a while you feel "yeah, yeah, I´ve heard it before, get on with it". The celan vocals of Kristian Ranta can sometimes be a bit faint, but sometimes, as in "The Last Time", he sounds a bit like Björn "Speed" Strid out of Soilwork, which is allways nice. Production is a bit plastic, and the keyboard sometimes tend to disappear behind a wall of metal.

Over all, this album is definitely somewhat of a treat, and is all the song would hold the same dynamics, quality, epicness, and creativity (I mean, bass solo? Awesome!) as the ending masterpiece "Closing in", this album would be rewarded a big ol' 10. But, I do recommend you to give this album a go! It´s well worth it!

See also review of: Till Death Unites Us

Performance	Originality	Production	Vocals	Songwriting
9	6	7	7	7

Summary
7 chalices of 10 - Olof