Madrigal
I Die, You Soar
7.1
With the extreme abundance of extreme Metal within my life. At times I find I need to step back from the blast beats and the death gurgles every now and then to regroup and to ultimately elevate my conscience. The solace I found within Madrigal’s latest release I Die, You Soar was exactly the refreshing alternative to the ultimate heavy that I have surrounded myself with lately. Don't get me wrong, at length I will always feed on intense doses of full on death vengeance crush. This disc is precisely the right combination of atmospheric blends layered with an almost tormented sounding performance by lead vocalists (and rhythm guitar) Martin Karlsson. The mood altering sounds of Madrigal do indeed cure the soul. I do believe a little history on Madrigal is in order. In 2000 they had the great fortune of opening up a show for In Flames. According to the Nuclear Blast site the response was great. So good in fact, Anders Friden, lead throat for In Flames offered them the opportunity to record at his now acclaimed studio, Studio Fredman. Which of course I do have to add the production is completely remarkable. After the recording was complete Anders took the disk to his A&R guys at Nuclear and wound up scoring Madrigal a deal. What a great band story wouldn't you say? The exact scenario all bands out there without contracts dream of. Madrigal found themselves in the right place at the right time. The same "law of the land" formality that keeps placing me in the wrong place at the right time. My favorite track is definitely number seven. Simply entitled Entice. There is some deep emotion delivered throughout the whole song. The drunken rewind factor is again off the scale. The overall feeling of harmony is overwhelming. I Die, You Soar is a mid-tempo soulful, well-designed first attempt at what Nuclear labels, Gothic Metal. To categorize it completely would be pretty hard. I have to admit the word Gothic does worry me. Because up coming releases from Madrigal should prove innovative and the stigma of Gothic Metal is not one they need looming on their shoulders. I believe they could go in any direction they feel. Bottom Line: If you are in need of that Sunday hangover fix. Madrigal is the cure.
7.9
"Millennium Metal" - Two words that you'll find in several of the surgical dissections performed by "The Prophets" here at MetalReview. The meaning behind it is simple. Millennium Metal (keep in mind that this is my OPINION) contains powerful and technical drumming layered with thick and crunchy guitars mixed with low frequency bass tones from hell and most importantly vocals that will tear your heart out upon the first listen. Some of it will contain keyboards, samples, orchestras and so on. It is the blending of all the heavy music to cross our paths since Black Sabbath planted the seed in the garden of metal 30+ years ago. Even though I like to think I am as metal as the next guy, every so often a disc will come along that really doesn't look right next to my Dimmu Borgir, Slayer and Carnal Forge discs in my collection. Nevertheless, that doesn't mean I can't enjoy music that resembles the lighter side of things from time to time. That's where Madrigal comes into the picture. Their debut release is one of those discs that lets me escape from the speed, brutality and horror that pretty much takes up about 99.9% of my listening time. I first heard this disc at a time when I truly felt like I was going to overdose from extreme music. My initial thought was, "What a relief! Some music that I don't have to hear several times before I finally get it." Produced by Anders Friden of In Flames, arguably one of Sweden's most influential metal bands, Madrigal have delivered an album that you will either love or hate. I don't believe there is any in-between stages when it comes to this disc. I personally love this disc and it has gotten at least one spin in my CD player everyday since I got my hands on it. The best description I can give you would be to say it's a cross between a lighter version of both In Flames and Dark Tranquility with a touch of the simplified writing style of Katatonia. The drumming performance involves basic beats with nothing too fancy while the guitar riffs are all pretty much three to four chord progressions. There are times when the guitars will be silent and the sound made by the atmospheric keyboards mixed with the highly compressed bass tone is mesmerizing. If you're into clean singing involving melodies that are well thought out with lyrics that have deep meaning, than you're going to love the vocal performance on this disc. With the exception of maybe two tracks that I tend to skip over, the other six songs on this album are definitely worthy of repeated listening. To sum things up here for all you diehard metal freaks, this disc by no means resembles my personal definition of what Millennium Metal is, but it will stay in my collection as well as my current rotation for quite some time. If you can only ingest aggressiveness and it's impossible for you take your Dying Fetus or Cryptopsy discs out of the CD player for an easy listening session, then don't waste your time with this disc. However, if your metal tastes are a bit more mature and you require a change of pace from time to time, than you're sure to enjoy the simple yet powerfully inspirational music Madrigal has to offer. If these guys can continue to create music like this, than I plan on remaining a fan for many years to come. Favorite Track: Mind In Disguise
