Curse of the Red River

Barren Earth | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (March 23, 2010)
• Original Release Date: 2010
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Peaceville
• ASIN: B00354NB7W
• Also Available in: MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #120,113 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Editorial Reviews

With former members of Finnish metallers Amorphis, plus current members of Swallow the Sun, Moonsorrow, and Kreator, Finland's Barren Earth presents `The Curse Of the Red River'; the debut album of progressive and folk textured death metal. Inspired by everything from Opeth to Pink Floyd, and Paradise Lost to Jethro Tull, plus obscure psychedelic rock and Finnish prog, it's a fine journey through the realm of melodic brutality and keyboard-soaked atmosphere. Mikko KotamÊki - Vocals (Swallow The Sun) Olli-Pekka Laine - Bass (Ex-Amorphis, Mannhai) Kasper MÌrtenson -Keyboards (Ex-Amorphis, Ben Granfelt Band) Janne PerttilÊ - Guitar (RytmihÊiriÚ) Marko Tarvonen - Drums (Moonsorrow) Sami YlisirniÚ - Guitar (Kreator, Waltari) Artwork comes courtesy of Travis Smith (Opeth / Katatonia / Bloodbath)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Speaks Volume!!, April 11, 2010

By 

Elton Lee (Boston, MA United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Curse of the Red River (Audio CD)

I am a faithful Opeth music lover. Anything that has the touch and feel of Opeth music I will love it and having said that here comes Barren Earth. I have known nothing about this band prior to this outing. Bump into them by chance from a reliable music site. Check it out and Voila!! I am indeed joyful to appreciate a new comer to the scene and I cannot get enough of Barren Earth. It is my 4th time thru and I am loving it no kidding. The blending of harsh and clean vocals, odd time signatures, long song structure, the usage of acoustic guitars and the distortion brutality from the heaviness of its twin guitars makes this album a strong introduction to the metal community around the world. It is no surprise that a talented band such as Barren Earth hails from Finland. The music is melodic, soothing at times, brutal at another and full of commendable song writings. It sounds to me as if Barren Earth has been in the scene for many years. But no this is their debut album and what a matured and powerful debut this is. I would recommend it most definitely. Do not even wait for a second.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A blessing from Finland!, March 25, 2010

By 

misha2707 - See all my reviews

This review is from: Curse of the Red River (Audio CD)

About a month ago, I listened to a couple of tracks from Barren Earth's EP and decided I wanted to grab one of their albums. As it happens, these guys had never actually released a full-length album--until now. It was well worth the wait.

Barren Earth is a Finnish supergroup consisting of members from Amorphis and other popular metal acts. One thing I dislike about supergroups is you never really know what you're going to get. While musicianship is generally very good to great, the music as a whole could turn out to be subpar because perhaps the band does not play as a team. Another thing is that supergroups hardly ever stay around for more than an album or two.

The first concern is thankfully not the case with Barren Earth. As for the second, only time will tell. On this album, musicianship is superior and each member of this band adds to the holistic goodness of the music in general.

As a matter of style, I'm still not sure who to compare Barren Earth to. At certain times in the album you do hear hints of Amorphis, but they are subtle. At other times, you get the Opeth vibe, again subtle. So exactly what kind of music do these guys play? One could say Barren Earth is a progressive death doom band. Incorporating a good amount of doom elements and matching that with an equal part of progressive death metal may seem a tall task to do and sound good at it. Barren Earth has done so masterfully.

The vocalist manages to switch from monstrous roars to harmonious clean vocals effortlessly. Time signatures often vary and change within songs. Listen to the epic closing track to see what I'm talking about. Two minutes in, you're thinking this is pure doom metal. Then, all of a sudden it switches to full-on in the face progressive death metal for most of the remainder of the song.

This is both a graceful and brutal album. If you are into metal of any variety, you owe yourself a favor to go out and get this album. It is simply incredible. Curse of the Red River washes up a fluid 4.9/5 stars.

5.0 out of 5 stars Phenomenal, October 16, 2010

By 

Nicholas Young (Fort Wayne, IN USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Curse of the Red River (Audio CD)

I've been listening to metal for a long, long time...and this is possibly the best metal album through and through I've ever heard. There is really nothing to complain about here - the songs are equally brutal and beautiful, at the same time, and the mix of the two styles is done effortlessly. Moreover, it's an album that never seems to grow old. You can listen over and over and still be as blown away as you were the first time you put it on.

I cannot recommend this album highly enough - it's a fantastic listen