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4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
A Change In Color And Sound, May 7, 2006
Ho damn, no one has even looked at this page yet. It's sad I'm the first one to review this.
Ever since hitting the scene back in 2002, Norther has kept their momentum rolling. All their albums and singles have graced the charts (In Europe). However, they have never erupted passed north European territory. Touring commitments have never been much of a commitment, except mostly local half-drunken gigs. Their music has been aggressive since day one, but not without melodies hand in hand. While Bodom changed their sound (which led to a not-so-stellar release), Norther changed their album tone from arctic, cold, and blue to fire, red, and death.
The album fires plenty of melodic and heavy riffing, fast rhythms with improved vocals, catchy dual lead melodies, and charging virtuosic solos. The musical relationship between Lindroos and Ranta, with their sharpened axes, has never been better. The keyboards keep on experimenting with small details while also adding that signature Norther atmosphere no band can touch.
Rising up to the challenge, lead guitarist Kristian Ranta lends his pure voice to three songs: "Omen", "Alone In The End", and "Wasted Years". Three out of twelve isn't much, and for those who enjoy it, they may feel like one or two more songs with Kride's vocals wouldn't hurt. Due to the extreme and fast nature of the material, the clean singing is not forced into every track, which is a smart move. With his vocals fused into these songs, the rest of the group ultimately have to keep a slower pace because Ranta's voice isn't able to keep up with the ensuing shredding. I don't resent them, but apparently there's more work to be done before they should be exposed in greater contexts. This isn't to say that Kride doesn't have a good voice, but compared to four years of Petri fronting, it comes out experimental.
Norther may have some of the worst song titles and generic lyrics on the face of this planet, but they are a prime example of thrilling Finnish Melodic Death Metal. They still reign high with their cousins Children Of Bodom and 2nd cousins Amorphis, so there's a good chance -Till Death Unites Us- will attract new fans and not lose dedicated followers in the process.
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1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
The Norther of 2006, November 14, 2006
Norther are a band that have been a band slowly rising into the spotlight in the metal verse. One of several Finnish bands that have been dogged with the "Children Of Bodom clone" tag. The similarities between the two bands are undeniable, as both mix harsh vocals with inventive speed/power metal. Whether Norther is a COB clone, a COB-influenced band, or just a band that happens to sound similar, is subject to debate. The guys themselves probably don't care one way or another, as their career continues to move along quite nicely. That all said Norther are a band that can stand on their own and are not afraid to take chances and experiment with their sound as is seen on the latest release 'Til Death Unites Us'.
::ALBUM BREAKDOWN::
Throwing My Life Away - 3:08 - Starting out with a bombastic epic effect vocalist Petri Lindroos lets out a powerful, thunderous growl kicking off this catchy opening track. With the usual Norther keyboards and some above average guitar riffing, not to mention a suberb guitar solo at around 2:02 into the track. Very catchy chorus will leaving you singing and head banging along.
Drowning - 3:46 - Full of chugging riffs and bombastic drumming and a mesmerizing keyboard section during the chorus. The tempo of the song is mid to slow for a Norther track, though a face melting solo towards the end of the track with some extremely melodic rhythm added alot to this track.
Norther - 3:41 - The melodic guitar riffing that Norther are known for is shown well on this track dubbed after the band. Easily some of the best riffing heard on the album is heard on this track. Right around 2:30 into the track easily one of my favorite breakdowns on an able occours, melodic lead with crushing rhythm roll into one of the stand out guitar solo's on the album.
Everything - 4:31 - The pace slows down a bit as this track opens with more chugging riffs and bombastic drumming. The chorus is def one you'll be yelling out along with. All in all a solid track with an excellent duel lead guitar breakaway.
Evil Ladies - 3:37 - Norther have always had a good sense of humor and it is seen here. This song is about exactly what the title means. The pace is mid to fast paced and has some superb guitar riffing, especially during the chorus.
Omen - 4:28 - Easily a stand out track on the album with its tranquil piano intro which is continued through out the song. Another and far more important part is during the chorus we actually hear Petri sin, it is amazing how superb this man's voice is and the band not abusing that fact. This song has an extremely catchy chorus making this track one of the most intriguing tracks on the album to wide spread audiences.
Scream - 4:19 - The guitars in this song remind me alot of older Norther albums. Though to be honest this has to be one of my least favorite tracks on the album. The guitars are as usual amazing but the vocals really didn't add anything to the song and drumming is practically non existant. About 1:53 comes the only part of the song I really like a side that this song is just filler.
**** You - 2:03 - Glad to see these guys still have a sense of humor even after getting a bit more spotlight then they are used to. The song serves one purpose to make you chant the words "f*ck you" at the top of your lungs while bashing your own brains into oblivion. Just a nice short song with a painfully obvious meaning...
Alone In The End - 4:10 - Good god, this is an amazing song. Easily one of my favorites on the album with more of those audible vocals from Petri as well as some of the best keyboard work on the album. This song is solid from start to finish and reminds me alot of something In Flames would have done in past years.
Die - 3:23 - This song has an extremely constant heavy beat to it through out the better part of the track making it one you'll be headbanging along with. This song has an excellent guitar solo and the lyrics have some powerful meaning behind them.
Wasted Years - 5:01 - As many of you know Norther is known for changing up tempo and usually having one or two songs with a more melodic niche to them. Slow to mid pace riffs and licks are heard followed by a powerful, meaningful chorous. Being one of the longest tracks on the album its sufficent to say that this is a standout track on the album.
The End Of Our Lives - 3:54 - I have always felt that Norther's albums have some significant continual concept and to me this album is about death and the inevitable end we all must face. To end out this amazing album Norther go all out with easily the best guitar solo on the album and melodic death riffs backing powerful vocals and on point lyrics. This is my favorite track on the album.
All in all Norther's Til Death Unites Us is a great Metal album worthy to be on every Metal Head's album shelf. Though this album is good it does not come close to compare to many of Norther's past albums thus the reason for the Four stars rather then Five. Though I enjoyed this album it saddens me that Norther is progressing in the same direction as many other bands and is beginning to give there individuality in order to make more accesible music to garner more fans and thus placing popularity over quality. I advise picking up all of Norther's older works as well as this album. Trust me Norther is a band you don't want to not look up. Thanks for reading and please hit the YES button on whether or not this review helped you below.. If nothing else I kept your attention for a moment.
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4.0 out of 5 stars
Really Good, but Not Great, October 26, 2009
Norther delivers again, keeping their sound uniform with their other albums. But it seems like they didn't quite put the time into this one like they did with Mirror of Madness or Death Unlimited. If you've never listened to them before, get Death Unlimited or Mirror of Madness first.
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