Released By : Nail Records
Genre : Melodic Death Metal
Links : http://www.myspace.com/sicituradastramusic
Tracklist:
1. Intro
2. New Beat In A Dead World
3. Virus
4. I Never Change
5. Fading
6. Retrospection
7. Unfaithful World
8. Find A World For Me
9. Outro
While a lot of bands these days are trying to find the instant path to success by copying the standard melodic death metal sound, it’s nice to know there are bands like SICTUR ADASTRA still out there that are willing to do something a little different to try and stand out from the crowd. Their newly released debut album NEW BEAT IN A DEAD WORLD may qualify as just another melodic death metal release on the surface, but the band also have a strong progressive metal influence that gives these songs some much needed depth and musicality.
Online information about the band is pretty slim pickings, but I did however discover that they have only been around since 2006, which when considered means that this album has been made by a band only together four years and the material on offer is good enough to have come from a band with double that time together. Obviously forming in 2006 puts them right in the middle of the melodic death metal invasion so in theory it would have been for them to just rest on their laurels, but it’s a good thing they didn’t.
My favorite tune on the album was the title track NEW BEAT IN A DEAD WORLD and it’s not hard to see why this was chosen as the title for the album. The usual melodic death metal elements are all there, but some progressive metal style keyboard segments and some very good riffing make the song sound very tasty. Tunes like I NEVER CHANGE and UNFAITHFUL WORLD aren’t far behind either and apart from a couple of fizzers, the album as a whole is a worthy venture. I’m not sure about the fact that a nine track album should have an intro and an outro, because it actually means that you are left with seven proper songs, a length that these days is almost classed as E.P length. It’s lucky then that all of the seven songs proper will please fans of the genre and all in all makes for a pretty enjoyable time.
Let’s cut to the chase, this album isn’t a revelation nor is it the album that will save melodic death metal, but with a few unique touches and an emphasis on progressive metal, NEW BEAT IN A DEAD WORLD is a somewhat fresh sounding album that fans of both genres will be able to find something to enjoy about it.
Written By ZeeZee
Rating : 7/10
