Thousand Swords

Thousand Swords' appeal has deteriorated greatly in light of the release of the superior Shogunate Macabre. The biggest difference between Whispered's two albums is regarding the keyboards. Thousand Swords features a fulltime keyboardist in Karjalainen, while the band's sophomore album relied on programmed orchestrations to fill the epic void and sell the exotic subject matter. Some of this album's biggest shortcomings revolve around Karjalainen's performance, as it is excessively difficult to craft the multi-layered traditional Eastern harmonies and melodies using a single keyboard alone. He does a commendable job, but it still pales in comparison to the programmed orchestra emulation present on Shogunate Macabre. As such, much of Thousand Swords appears content to simply drop the Oriental bluster whenever it can get away with it and simply settle into an Ensiferum-styled mid-paced gallop.

These compositions have one distinct advantage over their successor, and that is the free-flowing songwriting style they are delivered in. Valjakka and his crew make an earnest attempt to throw as many tertiary ingredients as possible into the stylistic mixing pot, with little concern regarding what finally comes of it all. Sometimes it works, like the groovy bass-driven intro and verses on "Of Honor" and the ethereal leads that weave in and out of the keyboard melodies during "Faceless". Other times the entire ordeal gets too overcooked for it's own good. This is most evident during the patience-testing closer "Blade in the Snow", during which Valjakka's overacted warbling aggressively pushes itself toward the front of the mix while demanding attention. His blackened screech is a big detraction here, since he very nearly appears to be panting with self indulgence as he delivers quasi-heroic scripture during the aforementioned closer. The vocals sound irritatingly upfront, and you can almost hear the saliva radiate from his mouth as he blabbers his way from song to song. Ever heard of a pop filter, guys? The biggest deviation from all of the faults is "Blindfold," which kicks ass in so many ways and hints at what's to come on Shogunate Macabre. Damn this song rules.

The lower production values also damage some of Thousand Swords' potential, as the guitars sound underproduced - yet not in a good way. They feature a solid crunch but sonically there is little depth to their distorted bite, and as such they often get overshadowed by the flagrant keyboards and triggered drums. During some of the busier compositions like the title track, the bombastic Nightwish-esque chanting serves to push the guitars even further into the background. The one potential saving grace is the big presence of Arvaja's rumbling bass, but in the end it only serves to accentuate the hollow-sounding nature of the mix. The leads remain supple and memorable, but even at their best they are only replicating styles that have already been done before and done better by other bands.

As a final insult, Thousand Swords fails to fully capitalize on the traditional Eastern instrumentals and melodies, since the guitars never adopt or mimic the Oriental melodies the keyboards are constantly churning out. As such, the guitars deliver stock melodeath posturing completely separate from the nonnative keyboards, and never the twain shall meet. This major flaw - along with most of the other imbalances, were rectified for Shogunate Macabre, so kudos to Whispered for taking the concerns to heart. Thousand Swords isn't a complete failure, but it certainly finds itself lacking a clear purpose and direction more often than it should. Get Shogunate Macabre instead.