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THE ARCHIVES
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Morrigan's Pit has closed down as of November 2006. The site and its articles will stay online as an archive until September at least, but probably longer.
The Archives
2002-2006
» CD REVIEWS
» INTERVIEWS
» LIVE REVIEWS
» SPECIALS
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ASSAILANT
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Nemesis Within
2006
Dockyard 1
http://www.assailant.se
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1. Lies
2. Buried Alive
3. Edge Of Forever
4. Downward Spiral
5. Until The End
6. Eternal
7. Mental State
8. Shattered
9. Tomorrow
10. Vanity Unfolds
11. My Awakening
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Oh happy day! "Nemesis Within", the debut album of the Swedish band Assailant is finally out. I don't think I have ever been anticipating a debut release before.
I find Assailant's music to be really hard to describe but when I'm revealing that you'll find In Flames, Symphony X, Soilwork, Talisman, The Haunted and Nocturnal Rites among the band members' favourite bands - how does that sound? Perhaps it sounds like an odd mix but rest assured it's working well for these guys. And if it sounds interesting to you, you're in for a treat.
One of the initial things I liked about Assailant was that they pretty much sound like Assailant - and not just any other band. That is presumably one of the biggest compliments a band can get - most certainly it's the biggest compliment I am able to give.
Nevertheless it is possible to find references and so while listening to the album names like Angel Dust (mostly the beginning of "Shattered"), (Morgana) Lefay (especially the pre-chorus in "Mental State") and most of all Evergrey ("Eternal", among others) come to mind. Just as examples. No bad references if you ask me.
Assailant are taking the best from the power metal world, add some prog, very little death and quite a bit of thrash, they are mixing tradition with modernity and at the end of this process we have 11 songs with an identity of their own. Naturally, the material is varied, with everything from more melodic to really heavy stuff, often within one song and always spured on by a mercilessly pounding Patrik behind the drums.
In between all that "Synth-Peder" (how he is called to distinguish him from the other Peder in the band) is up to some keyboard tricks. They can sometimes be very prominent, in "Mental State" Peder was even given room for a solo. But usually everything is being compensated by a guitar just waiting around the next corner...err....beat. Still, you should be able to tolerate synths, it certainly helps to appreciate the band. Aforementioned "Mental State" is among the heaviest tracks and it also carries my favourite guitar solo on the album. Having said that, I should take advantage of mentioning "Vanity Unfolds" because guitarist Oskar Norberg is the brother of Nocturnal Rites' Nils and Persuader's/Savage Circus' Emil, both of which are giving a guest performance on this track: triple guitar power courtesy of the infamous Norberg clan! ;)
Finally, what you need for eclectic music like this is a versatile vocalist and Peder Sundqvist is such: the "icing on the cake" like I already wrote in my review for the demo "Mental State". Tell him to sing, scream, shout or growl and he'll do it - and he'll do it well.
I'm already curious as to what these guys have in store for us in the future. I am usually sceptical towards labels' praises for their bands but in Assailant's case I just have to quote them: "Don't miss to check them out, otherwise it is most certainly YOUR loss". 'Nuff said.
Note for collectors and die-hards: The Japanese release features the bonus track "Soulless".
submitted by Cora 05.06.2006
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rating 1 - 5 Morrigans
5 = awesome, 4 = good, 3 = average, 2 = keep practising, 1 = sell your gear!
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