Izegrim "The Ferryman's End"
I could sit here typing endless comparisons of Izegrim's sound with that of Arch Enemy. Every other reviewer seems to do this and I would hate to break from tradition. However there's a point to make about Arch Enemy. I don't like them. I actually don't mind a bit of Izegrim. They do exactly what they say on the tin. Take the chops of some thrash riffs, mould them onto some raspy DM vocals and infuse with just enough melody to keep any Lamb of God fans smiling and you have an Izegrim track already written.
Forgive my condescending tone though for a minute because I genuinely think Izegrim do meldoic DM reasonably well enough and "The Ferryman's End" has some very pleasing and well executed moments on it. There are breakdowns galore, solid lead work aplenty and even some variety to the front woman's vocals.
The problem is that for all the promise and achieved goals on "The Ferryman's Ending" it just doesn't flow, ever. Everything is so compressed by a combination of a very stringent song structure and
caged in production. The result is a very generic and formulaic feel to proceedings. I mean, I have only just finished listening to the album and I can't recall hardly any of it because it is the same at heart.
Now don't get me wrong, I am sure the average Izegrim fan doesn't put one of their albums on looking to be whisked of on an auditory and sensory magic carpet ride only to be constantly let down and then have to put "Pleiade's Dust" on again to satisfy that particular itch! But even the most easily pleased of music fan needs some variety and flex to hold the attention surely? For an album that runs for eleven tracks in length, life gets uncomfortable once that same pace/chug/solo/pace combo has followed the same blueprint for 5 tracks. I just expect more from a band that are entering their 20th year in existence.
To recap; Izegrim play well, they just lack fluidity and as a result I have the attention span of a four year old being asked to watch a documentary on quantum physics whilst seated in a toy store when I listen to "The Ferryman's End".
2/5
Link
Listenable Records Bandcamp
Forgive my condescending tone though for a minute because I genuinely think Izegrim do meldoic DM reasonably well enough and "The Ferryman's End" has some very pleasing and well executed moments on it. There are breakdowns galore, solid lead work aplenty and even some variety to the front woman's vocals.
The problem is that for all the promise and achieved goals on "The Ferryman's Ending" it just doesn't flow, ever. Everything is so compressed by a combination of a very stringent song structure and
caged in production. The result is a very generic and formulaic feel to proceedings. I mean, I have only just finished listening to the album and I can't recall hardly any of it because it is the same at heart.
Now don't get me wrong, I am sure the average Izegrim fan doesn't put one of their albums on looking to be whisked of on an auditory and sensory magic carpet ride only to be constantly let down and then have to put "Pleiade's Dust" on again to satisfy that particular itch! But even the most easily pleased of music fan needs some variety and flex to hold the attention surely? For an album that runs for eleven tracks in length, life gets uncomfortable once that same pace/chug/solo/pace combo has followed the same blueprint for 5 tracks. I just expect more from a band that are entering their 20th year in existence.
To recap; Izegrim play well, they just lack fluidity and as a result I have the attention span of a four year old being asked to watch a documentary on quantum physics whilst seated in a toy store when I listen to "The Ferryman's End".
2/5
Link
Listenable Records Bandcamp
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