ISOLE (Forevermore) CD
I must confess, that I never was the greatest fan of epic styled Doom Metal. After a while, I can't stand this typical dramatic atmosphere, combined with weak and average heavy metal riffs and whining vocals. Only a few bands as Solitude Aeturnus or Solstice have touched my soul, while others are nothing more than overproduced Power Metal to me. When I received the promo of ISOLE's debut album "Forevermore", released by the excellent Swedish label I Hate Records, I wasn't really excited when I noticed that this Swedish three-piece belongs to the above mentioned genre. But no matter what the label info says, it's always better to listen first.
And after a few minutes all my prejudices crumbles into dust, not only because of ISOLE's mighty walls of riffs. And after I listened more than once to "Forevermore", I feel overwhelmed by the majestic and powerful sound of this band. Of course, they are dramatic, too, but guitar-player Crister Ohlson plays more than just one crushing heavy riff here, and "Beyond the Black" is just one proof for it. In spite of all heaviness, his guitar-work is still very emotional as well as the outstanding vocals of drummer Daniel Bryntse. Well, he isn't a second Robert Lowe (vocalist of Solitude Aeturnus), but he had found his own impressive clear vocal-style, and that's always better than just being a bloodless imitator. The album contains seven beautiful cuts on a total of 58 minutes, and for my taste it includes no outstanding song, what is meant as a compliment.
Everything is well-crafted here, and the album isn't boring for one minute. Well, it's no surprise that mostly all of the songs are played in slow- and mid-pace, only "Moonstone" is enhanced with a short Black Metal-like part, but that doesn't sound as strange as you might think. But with the exception of this moment, ISOLE are true and honest Epic Doom Metal - no doubt about it! "Forevermore" is a successful cross of ambitious song-writing talents with massive riffage, and due to its result it`s logical that this guys are around since the early 90's, where they were they were known as Forlorn. But this name-dropping isn't really necessary, because the power of this album speaks for itself, and should be a must-have for all fans of Epic Doom Metal!
(KK)