(bk) Thanks to their great debut album "Conspiracy in Mind" the Norwegian band Communic was elected Newcomer of the Year 2005 in many magazines. Now they've just released their second album, "Waves of Visual Decay", and the question is, will they be able to keep that level? There's no doubt they will. This is an excellent power metal album, reminding of bands like (more than any other) Sanctuary, but also Nevermore or Candlemass. These great metal songs stand in between the traditional and the innovative, the progressive and the groovy sounds and combine the best of both worlds, as wonderful riffs are mixed with expressive, emotionally charged melodies. No doubt that frontman's Oddleif Stensland's voice is incredibly close to that of Darrel Wane (like he sounded in Sanctuary, to be accurate), and "Waves of Visual Decay" could be a kind of "third" Sanctuary album for all those fans who'd have liked one more. But it would be unjust to reduce a band like Communic to a clone of another band, even if that other band is a legendary one. "Waves of Visual Decay" is a very varied album, very elaborate, on a incredibly high musical and technical level, and even more: it's done with passion and feeling. There're uptempo songs, midtempo songs and ambiental parts like "Watching It All Disappear", a dark, emotional semi ballad, and beside that one, the strongest tracks are "Under A Luminous Sky", "Waves of Visual Decay" and "My Bleeding Victim", a very progressive song with killer riffs. A great album much to the liking of the aforementioned bands' fans, but also interesting for all progressive and power metal listeners.
(05-05-2006) |
