Mendeed - The Dead Live By Love |
Published March 22 2007
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Burning Fear* |
| Genre | Melodic Metalcore |
Dave Proctor
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Vocals
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| Tracks | 12 |
Steph Gildea
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Guitar
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| Runningtime | 54 Min. |
Steven Nixon
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Guitar
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| Label |
Chris Lavery
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Bass
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| Release | 02 Feb. 2007 |
Kevin Matthews
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Drums
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| Country | Scotland |
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Keyboard
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| Similar artists | Children Of Bodom, Trivium, Into Eternity | ||
Something wild and restless; never trivial - beneath a burning sky, where the open mended live by love of music - ascends from the land of the Scots. Indeed, these men of war and highland glory, or are they just mere children of bottomless hate, breeding their inhuman rampant damage to the eardrums? Either way, this quintet of bonded by blood brothers fuel the fire and ignite the flames, eagerly willing to stand as one, in order to lead the fight, and the crusade for true metal, and it's not over yet!
With the success of Children Of Bodom, Shadows Fall, Trivium, and Dragonforce, these men in word and deed, dutifully break free from the confines of the dying, withered, and taciturn genre of metalcore. Crushing the poisoned hearts of the chimerical crowd of mall metal's hollow masquerade - who will soon completely pass out of existence - and resurrecting hope for all that remains of pure power metal, Mendeed storm the gates, ready to reload and kill with their sonic iron firestorm.
Last month, when my promo copy arrived from Nuclear Blast, I perused the press sheet, which compared them with too many nu-metal poseurs, and their ilk of lacklustre talent; so I shelved it without a second glance; since I still had many other artists to review, anticipating the likes of new Onslaught, Masterplan, and Metalium. Mendeed trounce recent releases by these bands! I soon discovered this when I read a praiseworthy review at Lords Of Metal, where the reviewer compared Mendeed to Toxik. I then knew I had to hear this CD, to see if I agreed with his accomodations. Once I finally played The Dead Live By Love, I was floored! I have played this CD ever since! I have even sought out their earlier efforts; although, their newest CD is definitely their best work to date.
Mendeed all attended Dombarton Academy in Scotland, where they met and formed the band in 2000. They began as your typical mallcore outfit, and signed with Rising Records in the UK in 2003. They earned the esteem of Kerrang magazine with the success of the video for Ignite The Flames. This allowed them to play on The Master Of Puppets - Remastered compilation where they performed: The Thing That Should Not Be. They soon gained the interest and attention of Nuclear Blast and signed with them, re-releasing the CD - This War Will Last Forever with different artwork and two bonus tracks. This CD is also quite enjoyable, but like Ascendency from Trivium, there are still too many hardcore elements present.
On The Dead Live By Love, all nu-metal tendencies have been vanished and vanquished. There are still plenty of harsh vocals snarled and growled by Dave Proctor - who is essentially the doppleganger for Alex 'Wild Child' Laiho. Overall, for the majority of songs, Dave sings with his pure pop style presence, with a slight accent. This reminds me of Speed with Soilwork, or Anders with In Flames, but Mendeed have their own flair and flourish.
Mendeed toured recently with Dragonforce, and their improvement for melodic guitar playing truly evidences this. One can easily ascertain that Mendeed are highly influenced by the likes of Children Of Bodom and Arch Enemy. They must have also taken lessons, and observed Sam and Herman; because, this CD is filled with solos a plenty - fashioned in the power metal forum; popularized by Helloween, Gamma Ray, Hammerfall, and Lost Horizon.
Produced by Karl Groom, every song on TDLBL is crushing with shredding that shrieves. The intense rifforama antics of Steph Gildea melt my brave heart. Too many bands have trimmed back the guitar solo staple; not Steve Nixon! To hear this child play is pure puissance of his potential. The blazing opener, Burning Fear, is pure Bodom - Hatebreeder, then the next swing of the axe - The Fight - abounds from the valley of the damned with its ergonomic Dragonforce full ahead idolatrous rancour. The title track, for which an inventive video has been created, is hyperfast with a very catchy chorus.
Given their age, like Cellador or Engage, Mendeed must have steeped themselves in the 80's and immersed their mettle hearts in this era. Their guitar histrionics seem on par with Maiden and Priest, and serve as a testament to all those bands inspired by those icons. Like Into Eternity, Mendeed seem heavily influenced by Forbidden and Annihilator, as well. Whereas, Trivium emulate Metallica, Mendeed direct their expertise toward Megadeth. Unlike COB and Dragonforce, Mendeed don't have a keyboardist; so the metal melodies just flow with eloquence and aggression.
Honestly, I enjoy every song on this CD; several stick with me long after the CD has finished, although, I am eager to play it over and over again! I am awe-struck when I tap into each indivuation of aspect ratio harmony solo, leadbreak, then terriffic riff after riff; as well as the killer drumming of Kevin Matthews. Just listening to Our War, It's Not Over Yet, Reload 'N' Kill, encourages me to realize that more mettle youth of today are concerned about the quality of the music. This ardourous dedication, and alacrity of diligence is what will guarantee the success of future promising artists like Three Inches Of Blood, who like Mendeed, truly intuit the meaning of metal!
See
also review of: This
War Will Last Forever
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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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Summary
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8,5 chalices of 10 - Michael the MettleAngel |
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