A Sad Farewell

A short album, A Sad Farewell is your standard fare "epic" power metal with more extreme metal influences. Less flowery than stereotypical European power metal, but without the aggression or rawness typical of pagan, black and death metal, this album is an odd, but tenable mixture of the least abrasive and "harsh" aspects of those genres, respectively. That said, perhaps because of its "safe" approach to both genres, and some odd choices and influences, this album suffers from musical disorder and chaos. Calling this different approach "Battle Metal," the artists clearly draw upon their former roles in both Under Sanity's Bane, a symphonic power metal band, and Order to Ruin, a death metal band to create a strange, sometimes unconventional combination of styles. In spite of this mix, I would not say it is necessarily "bad," just awkward. It is obvious that the artists have experience in metal - the quality of their music shows their skill with their instruments and their ear for mixing and production - however, I'm doubtful whether this experiment achieved all that the band set out to do. It could be said that some styles just don't meld together very well. This take on what "Battle Metal" should be might be one of them.

Consisting of five short tracks, of which the first is a forgettable minute long instrumental, A Sad Farewell features fast-paced, steady drumming, guitarwork that's more suited (and typical for) contemporary power metal, death growls with -core screeching, and the occasional female soprano yelling out one-liners in clean vocals. That seems odd - as it should. None of the artists are particularly bad at what they do, and in fact seem quite attuned and seasoned to their chosen instruments. Together, though, they make for odd bedfellows - each drawing on preferred musical influences that aren't usually found together. I admit I have not heard the work that the three main artists - Markus, Denis and Mike - have done previously in collaboration, though I would not be surprised if those projects also suffer from the same tendencies. The only difference in this case being that the band is trying to achieve a style that is in many ways new and different.

Do I recommend this? Maybe. Be aware before checking out this band that you are unlikely to get a sound that you will already be accustomed to and, therefore, likely to find enjoyable at first listen. This is not an acquired taste, no, but A Sad Farewell is an experiment and experiments mean being forced out of your comfort zone. Ultimately, I'm not entirely sure that this "Battle Metal" style (which differs widely from what others consider 'battle' metal) works in the way that the band imagined it should. As a debut album, it's a decent attempt, but I'd like to see what the band will do next. They're certainly capable and able.