Album Reviews

There was, quite understandably, a fair amount of concern among fans of San Francisco’s progressive black metallers Cormorant when the band announced that they intended to continue on after vocalist/fretless bassist/lyricist Arthur von Nagel left the band in 2012 to work on the Walking Dead video game adaptation for Telltale Games.

Almost two years ago, I found an album on the internet and it was, in many ways, life-changing. It was atmospheric, haunting, and crushingly majestic. It sort of fell within the same box as established acts like Cult of Luna, ISIS, Neurosis and so on, but also with something new added to the mix. That album was Metamorphosis by a band named Crib45, hailing from Finland. It is and will always be, one of my personal favorite albums.

I don't remember the last time I reviewed a melodic death metal album, it was probably years ago. Once or twice a year I casually pick-up a melodic death album just to make sure that it's still not for me. I rarely even get to finish the album, let alone enjoy it. These Germans, Words of Farewell, have finally slapped me back into a world where there's no hopeless genres, and bands always spring to life here and there to give the big guys a run for their money.