Divided Multitude
s/t

The Norwegians offer us some multitude that is divided, and their musical multitudes struck a chord with this reviewer last time around where I struck the big drum of platitudes for the album called Feed on Your Misery that was released in 2013. This time the band celebrates 20 years and they do so with their sixth album that they simply call Divided Multitude, it has an interesting cover artwork that cannot be described as the best I have ever seen. The cover is however not boring and that is good, and considering the band’s previous album it is difficult not to read a lot into it and have many expectations when venturing into the work on this album – but as always I will do the best I can to remain objective.

Musically we are dealing with heavy progressive metal, similar yet slightly different to what we heard last time around. They can kind of be described as their Stargate Fascinated countrymen if they had changed their vocalist to Tobias Sammet from Edguy, but with some different twists to the music just to add a little more complexity. Their music is heavy, somewhat complex yet relatively easy to get into, good vocals and the discreet keyboard melodies that you barely notice at first glance adds a lot of atmosphere and depth to the music. It is powerful and excellently produced, I would say that it is great that they haven’t polished the sound too much as it adds a lot to the soundscape. And the playing time is good as well, they refrain from overdoing things and because of that they also keep the listener interested for the entire duration of the album. I would describe it as a high quality production with great dynamics and energy.

Add to that great songs and you have a great album to enjoy. I think they are great song writers and I really like this album as I think they hit the nail on the head with their great songs, their drive and their dynamic energy. Even though it is a great album I still don’t think it reaches the heights of the previous album, this feels somewhat flatter and lacks the last little edge of the previous album so it is not quite as fantastic as this band have proved themselves capable of. Nevertheless, it is not an album to overlook as it is a good evolvement from the previous album with some fresh stuff making it well worth looking into and enjoying, and if they can throw out album of this calibre they are surely worthy of being mentioned amongst the elite of the progressive metal genre.

All the songs are really good, none of them really stand out to a degree that I can hold it above the rest, maybe it is that lack of standout tracks that makes the previous album feel more exciting. But it is still a really enjoyable album and to me it feels as though Divided Multitude is doing great and show themselves from a really good side – it is definitely an album you should have a closer look at and I don’t doubt that it will spin in my music player every now and then. A recommended album to brighten up the winter cold and darkness, and maybe a great gift for the holidays.

HHHHHHH