Heavy Metal Nation 4

aus: The Metal Observer

Another collection of Heavy Metal songs released in the land of banks, cheese and exclusive watches has seen the light of the day. It would not actually be wrong at all to change the title “Heavy Metal Nation IV” into something like for instance “Swiss Metal Music Overview IV” as it is not only the label, Quam Libet Records, which originates from Switzerland but also each of the bands that present us their efforts here.

The title of this record might be somewhat misleading for the reason that the variety of Metal styles is quite wide and classic Heavy Metal is not the only genre that we can hear on the album. Thus we get almost everything from Melodic Death stuff, through Thrash Metal to Gothic and even a dose of modern Nu Metal playing can be found out there.

In order to make this review clear and to ensure each band at least a couple of words I am going to list them one by one below:

GONOREAS.

What a nice name for a Rock band! When I saw it, I immediately had associations with TURBONEGRO, though, the PUNK feeling typical for the Norwegians is not present here. “Love To Rock” is a good, solid portion of classic Heavy Metal and it can even be considered as some sort of Hard Rock anthem. By the way – what would you expect from a song called like this?

DYSTERA.

The title of their song (see the playlist above) did scare me and what I was prepared for was nothing else but some crappy Power Metal song with a vocalist whose voice brings to mind justified suspicions that the guy has been deprived his…well, never mind. It turned out that the devil is not as black as it is painted and the band offer us quite an interesting mix of Gothic and Heavy Metal. At times they sound even like Nightwish with Tarja on the vocals and I have to say, I started to like them. What annoys me here are the lyrics but of course everyone has his own taste…

PERTNESS.

Back to more traditional way of playing Metal. Even if they do not discover anything new here still their music should please all Heavy Metal fans. A good, catchy song with a powerful chorus.

SOUL LINE.

Their song is by far one of my favorites on this compilation. It is a bit difficult to state what kind of music these guys deliver us as one can hear here influences from Heavy Metal as well as Gothic Metal in the vein of PARADISE LOST. The vocals remind me of Jonas Renkse of KATATONIA. Really good!

ENDORAS.

I can easy recommend this crew to anyone who is fond of bands like MANOWAR or RHAPSODY. Is that recommendation enough? If not, let me announce then that ENDORAS play Epic Heavy Metal with synth ornamentations as well as sublime vocals and they definitely know how to play this kind of music.

EMERALD.

Our Heavy Metal journey continues as the first sounds of “Revenge” reach our ears. From the beginning of this track we all know that IRON MAIDEN have left a mark in these guys’ hearts. No worries though that this material is weak or average – the longer you listen to this record the more often you want to sing together with the vocalist “I, I swear reveeenge…”.

LORDREN.

A keyboard intro accompanied by some guitar work indicates Gothic Metal but what we get here is a well played Symphonic Power Metal piece of music in the vein of RHAPSODY. The best moment on this record for me is the solo just as the song draws to an end.

GREY MONDAY.

These guys rock! Their “Nonetheless” is not only one of the most distinguishable songs on “Heavy Metal Nation IV” but also one of the best ones. The vocal performance is awesome and the marriage of Metal and Grunge GREY MONDAY deliver is energetic, lively and simply excellent.

SECONDHAND CHILD.

The first really aggressive moment on the CD and quite an interesting one. This song just boils with emotions and it is nothing surprising as the band incorporates in their music elements from such genres as Hardcore, Heavy Metal and even Melodic Death.

SILVER DIRT.

Another very discernible song here and at the same time the “lightest” one. SILVER DIRT invite us on real Rock And Roll trip and I guess that most of you would appreciate their style full of fun and vigor. It is always nice to have such records while driving a car.

BULWARK.

“Deny” is a furious composition in which the band mixes Melodic Death with a bit of Thrash Metal and I have to say it can draw my attention for a longer period. Any associations with bands like AT THE GATES are absolutely not out of place.

SURREALIST.

This time we receive a genuine Thrash Metal song, though, it has to be stressed that their “Spread The Black Wings” includes a huge dose of something infernal and old-school which makes it sound even more interesting. The rapacious vocals play also an important role in creating such atmosphere.

SHADOW’S FAR.

It seems that the further we go the stronger compositions we usually get on this album, at least up to this moment. This ensemble will surely make you headbang by their blend of music in which one can feel both the Thrash Metal school as well as many influences from the Scandinavian bands dealing with Melodic Death Metal.

TOTAL ANNIHILATION.

The title of their song as well as the band’s name should tell us much about this stuff and their music just confirms the expectations. Here we have another group playing Thrash mixed with Death, though, this time not in the vein of Gothenburg style but with a far more traditional approach. Just look at these guys and you will know that ‘old-school’ is the keyword here.

MINSK SECURITY.

Another powerful track and I can assure you that not only the group’s name is interesting. In the beginning of “1349 Dead End” appear some Thrash riffs which later in the chorus parts transcend into something that smells Melodic Death. Pleasant solo in the middle and overall a good musical effort.

AGGRESSIVE SOUND PAINTERS.

After a sequence of quite brutal records we can relax and calm down a bit listening to “Suicide Inc.”. Not that this track lacks energy and power, not at all, it is just easier to ‘absorb’ music that is being served us by AGGRESSIVE SOUND PAINTERS. Clean vocals, catchy melodies and even some influences from bands playing Nu Metal like LINKIN PARK and you can have a picture of this ensemble’s art. Well, I like it.

MOSTLY HARMLESS.

Whereas the previous band claimed to be aggressive, this one is mostly harmless, both though play music addressed to fans of modern sounds. What distinguishes these two bands and their songs on this compilation are for example certain traces of IN FLAMES in the music of the previous band. Nice, catchy, decent.

NOVEMBER-7.

Even though the band’s name suggests that their music is best served during gloomy autumn evenings, every fan of Gothic Metal will appreciate this Swiss group’s efforts even now that the days are getting longer. The guitars are playing nicely against the background of dreamy synthesizer sounds and the female voice does its best to put a spell on the listener. We have heard it all before (WITHIN TEMPTATION, LACUNA COIL) but still quite a nice piece of music.

This way we have finally reached the end of our journey through the sound landscapes of Switzerland and I am sure that most of the travelers are satisfied and will eagerly come back here next time Quam Libet Records releases “Heavy Metal Nation”. This compilation, apart from good Metal music, gives us a great opportunity to acquaint ourselves with the Swiss scene.