Reviews
2007-03-08
Freya's second release sees the band taking things into a more basic, stripped down direction, instead of experimenting with complex arrangements and different vocals, the album goes straight for the jugular with a violent metalcore effort that sends one short burst of musical violence after the other, and it works.
Built by members of the legendary
Earth Crisis, Freya's lyrics are based on the same positive message, minus some of the straight-edged themes, the music and lyrics fit in well together, with one of the band's greatest strengths is the vocals by Karl Beuchner, one of the people I respect the most in the hardcore/metalcore scene for his pro-animal activities.
There's not much here in the way of diversity, the album starts out with the mid-paced and heavy "Threads Of Life", and almost all tracks follow that direction, short and the point, with some great metallic riffs. The first appearance of Beuchner's clean vocals comes in Lilith, the 7th track, which is also one of the more melodic cuts here.
Fans of current metalcore acts like
Killswitch Engage and mainly
Hatebreed will certainly enjoy this album, it's well written, very well produced, and Beuchner has one of the greatest growls in core history. An added bonus is a fine rendition of
Black Sabbath's "War Pigs" which ends this album on a high note. A highly recommended release.
Alon Miasnikov
