In last week's set of reviews, Matt Hensch gave a resounding 8.7 to This Ending, a band formed from the remains of seminal Gothenburg melodeath metallers A Canorous Quintet. Kicking off this week is Eric Smith's interpretation of said album, which stands in stark contrast to Matt's own. While Matt dug the band's continuation of their original Gothenburg sound, Eric feels that this genre is getting overdone and that This Ending could have done something out of the ordinary. Which take is more fitting? The best way to decide is to read both reviews and check out This Ending for yourself!
I really wanted to like this band. Upon the first few riffs of the song "Seed of Destruction" I was impressed by just how "punchy" this record sounded. As far as getting just enough bite in the guitars while keeping the bass audible, Nirbrant and crew have done a stellar job! As a bass player, I cannot tell you how much it irritates me when I cannot hear the bass guitar in any modern metal recording. There is absolutely no excuse for it to be put back in the mix.
As one continues to listen to this record a glaring flaw becomes apparent. Underneath all that crisp production are bland, sometimes mid-tempo, riffs, one-dimensional vocals (which a lot of melodeath is known for) and clichι "h8tred" lyrics that make Carnal Forge look like the poet laureate of Scandinavia. I swear, these have to be some of THE most boring lyrics ever burned onto disk!
This Ending's greatest crime, however, is that they do not bring anything new to the table. Fans of Carnal Forge and Nightrage might get a kick out of this, but I severely doubt it. The sad thing is even those bands offer more substance on one song than This Ending does in one album's worth of material. This is for fans of mediocre Gothenburg melodeath ONLY.
Tracklisting:
1. Seed Of Destruction
2. Inside The Machine
3. Pitch Black
4. Plague Angel
5. Lidless Eyes
6. Armageddon
7. Nailed Down
8. Let The World Burn
9. Into Pain
10. This Ending
Read Matt's review of this CD