To/Die/For
Samsara

So, a band to die for, is it? A Finnish band is what they are and they are releasing their sixth album which is called Samsara, which might not be the most fitting name considering the style of the album. The album is now being released worldwide by Massacre Records after having earlier been available at one record store earlier and only in Finland and not officially released by a label before. One thing this album has is a cool very grey album cover that looks really interesting, but cover art is one thing and what is inside it is another. It seems like an important selling point for this album that all of the band’s earlier albums has reached the finnish charts which might be seen as a testament of the band’s quality. For us at Hallowed however, past glories has no bearing on todays pieces.

Gothic metal is what it is all about, traditional gothic metal in one way but with quite the bit of variation over the different tracks on the album so not really the constant flow the title promised. We see everything from mellow beauty to more uptempo stuff on this album and this might make some people call it a bit incoherent and in a way maybe it is. You could also say that it has a great deal of variation over the ten tracks and near 52 minutes that makes up this album. The production is very good with a very good sound and an interesting feel to it, I think you could say that it sounds a bit like HIM or something similar to that.

I think this album is a bit up and down to be honest, in its best moments it is absolutely terrific and to die for but in its worst moments it is absolutely terrible and to die from. Some moments I lean towards awarding this album a rating of five but then one of the less interesting songs come and I am instead leaning towards giving it a rating of three. I would say that it is a difficult album to rate because of these ups and downs but after long and careful considerations I would say that a rating of four will be the most adequate as I think the good parts and the bad parts nullifies one another into making the impression a rather neutral one but the road there is quite a lot more interesting than on most of the average albums.

I would say that the opening track is a nice uptempo gothic track that sets a good tone for the album. Following it are some tracks that doesn’t do much but they are decent enough albeit the fourth track Death Comes in March is terribly boring. The track that follows the fourth is the fifth and that is called Folie á Deux which is the best track on the album and a fantastically good one that impress a lot. The seventh track Love is a Sickness is another one that is really good but then comes track nine following an average track and that is one terrible creation. It is a boring track all the way through and it makes me want to just turn the album of and not listen any more for a long time, so you see it is a journey of ups and downs that ends up more or less at the same average position as it was before I heard it the first time.

At least this album is not cowardly, the band dares to take out their turns and make music with ideas that is well made and although some of the tracks really suck but then some other tracks are quite amazing and the fifth one is probably one of the best I have heard this year so that is one I will bring with me even in the future. And I would say that even if the rating stops at the average rating I would say that the overall feel is still quite positive so if you like gothic metal I am quite sure that you will find this one interesting.