Leave This World

The late 90s revival period was a ripe time to start a power metal band, but not necessarily a time that guaranteed instant gratification of one's aspiration to make a sizable mark in the studio. As a more accessible wing of the underground resistance against all things non-metallic in said decade, there was still naturally a scarcity of places for exposure even in the cold lands of the Scandinavian Peninsula, despite the early success of the likes of Hammerfall and Nocturnal Rites during said period. One of the deferred acts to crop up from said period yet failed to get beyond the demo stage until well after the revival had morphed into something radically different was that of Gothenburg's Disdain, born in a place where metal saw its greatest renaissance during the 90s no less. To say that the eventual sound that developed and was ultimately displayed on their 2010 debut and soul LP outing Leave This World was heavily impacted by its respective locale would be an understatement, as guitarist and arguable central personality Johnny Johansson and company dish out a fairly unique composite of just about every prominent sound to come out of their home town in the 15 years prior to its release.

Chased by a heavy collection of lineup changes, including a brief stint with then Nightwish lead vocalist Anette Olzon, this album manages to find itself in a highly organized and consistent place that would suggest a far more stable history preceding it. The resulting sound is something of a melancholy amalgam of the repetitious melodic contours of Iron Maiden-infused melodeath, the keyboard-rich and modern feel typified in such albums as Nocturnal Rites' The Grand Illusion and Heed's The Call, though minus the occasional nu-metal quirks of the latter and the down-tuned chugging of the former, and maybe a slight helping of progressive trappings as typified in Tad Morose and even Pyramaze at times. Perhaps the most distinctive feature to emerge from this template is the vocal work of Christian Börjesson, who despite being better known for his drum work with other projects, manages a rather impressive crooning clean voice with a moderately soaring, high end wail highly reminiscent of Lance King. Truth be told, were it not for the highly Gothenburg-tinged take on post-Iron Maiden power metal, this album could almost be mistaken for Sweden's answer to Legend Of The Bone Carver.

Though this is largely an album that is built off of atmosphere and sticks pretty much in upper-mid tempo territory in a manner reminiscent of short-lived projects from around the same time period like Dawn Of Silence and Dignity, there are occasional points where things take on more of an impact-based sense of power metal mayhem. The standout speeder of the lot is "Rising", which listens the most like a stylistic throwback to the band's demo period in the early 2000s and wouldn't be out of place as a faster number off Hammerfall's Legacy Of Kings. The title song "Leave This World" and the driving anthem "Scarred" take on a bit more of a Stratovarius feel with maybe a slight bit of Brainstorm's Liquid Monster, keeping things up tempo and featuring a solid keyboard display out of Dragonland key master Elias Holmlid. Amid the songs that round out the rest of the listen is a nice punchy excursion into Tad Morose territory with some guest vocals provided by former Heed and Lost Horizon front man Daniel Heiman in "Leaping Cat" and a slow, sorrowful crawl into the album's conclusion using a similar aesthetic in "Revelation", though the absolute zenith of the bunch is the rocking trek into orthodox Maiden worship with an early Pyramaze twist in "Narrow Minded".

Despite all the right elements being in place for this album to have put this project on the map, it has only amassed a small cult-following. Some of this may lay with the resurgence of a more fantasy-based power metal craze with exaggerated technical elements, perhaps best summed up in the exploits of the rather flamboyant Pathfinder and Victorius in the years immediately following 2010. It doesn't really belong to either the high fantasy campiness of said bands or to the AOR steeped mid-2000s sound typified in Masterplan, and ultimately has an affinity most directly with the overall Swedish scene, be it the power metal one indicative in the likes of Dream Evil and Bloodbound, or the melodic death metal one in In Flames, despite the vocal presentation being radically different. All the same, it takes care not to fall into the modern groove take on said style that was being bandied about on albums like Tabula Rasa or Carpe DiEnd, and instead seeks a more traditionalist spirit that is sure to find a ready audience among the broader power metal fanbase. It presents a sort of music that is just a tad short of being undeniably classic, and it is a pity that 8 years to the day that this project has not had another crack in the studio to improve upon and potentially perfect it.