Volvere [Import]

Fall of the Leafe | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (May 25, 2004)
• Number of Discs: 1
• Format: Import
• Label: Rage of Achilles UK
• ASIN: B0001WU2EQ
• In-Print Editions: Audio CD  |  MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #719,002 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Track Listings

1. Waiting Room Snap

2. If Mirrors Leave Men in Crumbs

3. Enemy Simulator

4. Pillar of the Sun

5. Song from the Second Floor

6. More Like a Situation

7. Hell's Silence

8. Big Ol' Fat Rain Inside

9. Security Locks Are Good

10. Guilt Threat

11. Cut the Smoke

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Unholy Melodic Goth-Metal, June 4, 2004

By 

MANTAS30 (Philly, PA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Volvere (Audio CD)

Occasionally, I am floored by bands who take things that are "standard" in the genre and add a unique twist. It doesn't always work, and yes, safe is best at $18+ a CD, but then there's the feeling that you gambled and got more than a drink coaster!

Anyways, bands like Katatonia, Borknagar, Ulver, Agalloch, Opeth...that's the type of thing I'm referencing here. If you like those bands, and particularly the clean vocals of those bands, you'll be in for a treat here!

FOTL take the metal and add this constant melody thing, there's SO much interplay in each song, it's insane. And CATCHY AS HELL. Now throw in a vocalist along the lines of these bands, he's got this disassociated, goth-lounge-death feel to him. He's got real balls, and his melodies are better than most anybody I have heard.

Put it this way, if Borknagar became more of a rock band, and Vortex/Vintersong got a croon thing going, you'd pretty much have FOTL.There may be a filler song or two, because NOBODY can write a flawless album full of catchy stuff, but FOTL's fillers are better than most bands hits.

Hell, even the packaging is primo on this one. Can The End records do ANY wrong??

5.0 out of 5 stars Amazing mix of melody and heaviness, April 28, 2009

By 

Musical Warfare (Seattle, WA, USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Volvere (Audio CD)

While Fall of the Leafe's music seems to most often get labeled as melodic death metal or folk metal, the sound displayed on "Volvere" is many generations separated from the traditional Gothenburg sound. There are certainly passages reminiscent of older In Flames and the like, with heavy power chords beneath bright lead guitars, but that's only one of many elements on this album. The guitar riffing style also features much more movement, for lack of a better term, than most bands, keeping a constant melodic interplay going through most of the album and rarely becoming repetitive.

Another unique element is the guitar tone itself - the lead guitar does not exclusively use the bright, dominant sound you'd expect, but often a softer, cleaner tone which blends into the rest of the instruments. The band's frequent switches between cleaner melodic riffs and heavier sections provide a constant contrast and give the songs an unpredictable quality.

The core element of "Volvere" is the interplay between the melodic lead guitars and the unorthodox clean vocal style of frontman Tuomas Tuominen. People have compared his voice to that of James Hetfield's vocals in earlier Metallica albums, and while that may be a bit of a stretch, the styles are similar. Tuominen mostly uses a harsher clean vocal style, allowing the vocals to provide another melodic element to complement the guitar lines while still providing some punch. Scattered growls are also mixed in, and Tuominen does a great job of keeping the vocals varied and interesting. Really the whole band seems to have a knack for keeping things sufficiently varied - riffs will often morph into one another and reappear later in the song slightly altered, or backed by a different drum beat or vocal line.

As far as the actual album goes, the songs on "Volvere" are a mix of heaver, mostly straightforward metal songs like `Mostly Ashes' and less aggressive, more melodic tracks such as `Big Fat Ol' Rain Inside' or `More Like a Situation.' The highlights of the album end up being songs where Fall of the Leafe finds a middle ground between these two styles, mixing heavier riffing with melodic interludes and bridges, such as in the opener, "A Waiting Room Snap" or "Pillar of the Sun." "Volvere" is also the type of album where certain songs will jump out at you immediately, while other songs take awhile to really appreciate fully, making it a very rewarding listen.