Dispatched 'Motherwar'
Music For Nations, 2000
Lord Pale:
Dispatched are a upcoming Swedish melodic death metal band with futuristic overtones and artwork . Motherwar displays a proficient blend of In Flames style guitar work , combined with occasional acoustic sections used for intros/interludes as well as a retrained twinkling of keyboards mainly used for atmosphere . Samples are used now and again during songs or as preludes and epilogues to them as the gentle caressing waves at the beginning of 'Silver Waves' and the cacophony of gunfire at the conclusion of the title track 'Motherwar' demonstrate . These serve as gentle breaks between Dispatched's rocky melodic riffing and help flesh out the albums theme whilst offering a small reprieve from repetition . Like most bands in this style Dispatched usually settle into a kind of happy gallop that defines their sound and can initially can make their music sound a little similar, but the well structured song writing reveals it's subtleties with repeated listening . My only real gripe with Dispatched is their lack of vocal variation, their singer has a very grating rasp that can become overbearing at times . The outstanding highlight of Motherwar is undoubtedly the excellent cover of Europe's 'The Final Countdown' which now sounds far darker and comes across much better in it's metal translation as a much more brutal epic song . Overall a strong debut from a band with a lot of promise.
Favourite Tracks - The Final Countdown, Templar, Silver Waves
Mark - 7.5/10 |
