Melodeath fans take notice
Fear of Tomorrow is Earth's latest offering in the way of melodic death metal. And it is fantastic. Groovy, hard, and not overworking any of the musical elements, the album is definitely worth a listen. The guitar work is heavy and catchy while always in the listener's face. But it is also slow and dragging among the melodic solos - such as in the 2nd track, "Gagged and Bound." At other times the riffs and hooks are just down right groovy when doing a good job of mixing a bit of metalcore influence amongst the melodic death. Although the music is pounding like a hammer there is also a fair amount of keyboard used. It is not over used, such as being featured throughout ninety percent of each song, but it is usually used in the middle of tracks like "Land of the Dead" and "Don't Look Back." There's even some female vocals featured at the end of the latter track.
Vocals are bellowed in a sort of metalcore bark; not necessarily the low grunt that most death metal bands feature. At times the voice can seem a little strained, but the good news is it is understandable; the best vocalist comparisons that can be made is the one from melodic thrash metal monsters, Dew Scented or the one from Autumn Offering (which sadly, is about five times worse than this band). However, while they may not be "death metal vox," the vocals suit the music well, not taking away or hiding behind the other instruments. Everything is crystal clear and well performed together. Most definitely worth a listen for thrash, core, and melodeath heads.
(High Voltage)
