Lost Eden
Cycle Repeats
6.7
It's not everyday that I find myself reviewing melodic death metal from Japan, so I approached Lost Eden's debut full-length, Cycle Repeats, with relative excitement. I say relative because I don't think many people jump up and down in glee over melodic death metal these days. With more bands crowding the scene it becomes increasingly difficult for musicians working within the genre to find a sound all their own. While Lost Eden fail in producing anything wholly original, their songs will easily appeal to fans of the more modern In Flames and Soilwork school of catchy choruses, chunky, memorable riffs and dual clean/harsh vocals.
The one saving grace here in terms of originality is vocalist Norio. Norio's screams are exactly what I want from this genre--throaty, liquored up cries of anguish. The dude comes off as genuine, which is more than I can say for most vocalists. More importantly, his aim is to complement and never overwhelm the music. He gives the music room to breathe, which is a decent move on his part because the riffs often develop into anthems in their own right. The clean and harsh singing are both equally excellent and serve as interesting, albeit unnecessary, contrasts.
Nothing stands out as a particular highlight, a double-edged sword if I ever heard one because the songs are all strong but relatively sparkle-free compared to their bigger name peers. If the group had only gone with a more epic approach and pushed for Norio to use clean vocals almost exclusively Cycle Repeats would certainly be at the top of the heap, much like Soilwork was with Natural Born Chaos, in my humble opinion. As it stands now, the album shows Lost Eden to be a talented bunch with a lot of unfulfilled potential. Given time and some refinement in their approach to songwriting they stand the chance of making a name for themselves. Here's hoping the scene doesn't become so polluted that no one will notice.
