Fragments of D-Generation

First thing that hit any and all individuals who listen to this album is how similar to Soilwork's material this is. If this didn't struck you, than you probably don't know Soilwork. When I say similar to Soilwork, it's not just a little. I used to make my friends listen to this and ask them what band they thought it was, every single one of them would say Soilwork. This record is not just similar to anything Soilwork released between 2001 and 2005, it is shameless Soilwork worship. This is not a bad thing though. Often bands who try to emulate other bands sound end up becoming a very mediocre soulless copy of the band they try to resemble. A good example of this would be Dimension Zero, the Swedish band that really just sounds way too much like Children Of Bodom, but without the song-writing and feel of Children Of Bodom. Here, with Fragments Of D-Generation we have a completely different story. Disarmonia Mundi actually write stuff that is just as good as what Soilwork used to write in the end of the 90's and the beginning of the 2000's.

Good Gothenburg metal relies on simple melodic riffs, good leads, hooks, beautiful emotional vocals screamed, shouted or clean vocals. And Disarmonia Mundi does this perfectly. I wouldn't say they do it as well as other big guns of the genre such as Dark Tranquillity or Soilwork, but they put it together well enough to write memorable songs.

Like all the bands from the melodic death metal and Gothenburg metal scene though, they are facing a really persistent problem. Their music kind of feels generic at some points. This kind of music is based on very simple structures and rarely ever steps out of these boundaries. While the riffs are well-written and performed well with a good production, it immediately feels like déjà vu when you hear the clean vocals chorus kicking in for the first time on Morgue of Centuries. We all know this right. Palm-muted heavy riffs with the harsh vocals for the verses, than clean and melodic guitars with the clean vocals for the chorus. The keyboards are used in such way that these contrasting sections are made even more obvious to spot. But does that make it any bad? No, because like I've stated before, they do it well. This is just like listening to Twisted Sisters. No matter how predictable and cheesy it is, you still like it and sing-along. The songs are well put together and are very coherent. The build-ups and hooks are all at the good places and the chorus are catchy. No matter how generic, Disarmonia Mundi still manages to deliver a solid performance here and play some refreshing Gothenburg metal.

However, this album ends up lacking in personality because of all the similarities it shares with Soilwork’s early 2000’s material. The vocals are practically identical. The shouted vocals, the harsh vocals, the clean vocals, everything Björn Strid ever did with Soilwork, you will find it on Disarmonia Mundi’s 2004 effort. The production is very similar and the guitars are tuned almost exactly like they were on Natural Born Chaos and Figure Number Five by their Swedish alter ego. Bottom-line, Fragments of D-Generation has to lose some points for the lack of originality.

Still, this is not a bad album. It’s worth the listening and if you are a fan of Soilwork or Gothenburg metal in general, this will definitely be one of your favorites. Great energy, catchiness, good build-ups and hooks are what make this record interesting. The downsides are the lack of originality and sometimes generic song-writing. My personal favorite tracks are Morgue of Centuries, Quicksand Symmetry and Oceangrave.