Valkyrian Music

Band: NOWEN
Album: Essence of Fear
Release date: January 2012
Genre: Death/ Thrash Metal
Label: Violent Journey Records

‘Essence of Fear’ is the second full length album from the Finnish death metal band, NOWEN.

The opening track ‘Intro II’ is pretty much what you would expect to hear from a thrashy death metal band. The overall speed of the music and the guitar riffs bear a strong resemblance to Arch Enemy and this influence is present throughout the album. The next track ‘The Egotist’ continues where previous one left off and thanks to its fast, catchy guitar riffs, drums and growling vocals this is definitely one for those who enjoy the mosh-pit.

Other tracks sound like the band’s homage to old school death metal bands such as Morbid Angel. For example the intro to ‘Crown of Fallacy’ features the signature death metal drum sound. The next track, ‘Path of Destruction’ however is leaning towards a thrashier/melodic death metal sound with its standout guitar solos. ‘Sacrifice for Nothing’ is the album’s epic ballad with its melodic guitar riffs mixed in with the Arch Enemy -style growls.

The guitar in the intro to ‘Deadly Force’ reminds me of ‘Pro Patria Finlandia’ –era Impaled Nazarene. That is of course until the vocals kick in marking a return to the Arch Enemy style melodic death metal. ‘The Honor’ in turn features some progressive elements which are one of the album’s weaknesses as the guitar squeals wreck an otherwise solid piece.

Overall this release shows a lot of promise but I think NOWEN still have some way to go before they establish their place in the metal scene.

3.5/5

Iza Raittila

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This entry was posted on 9th February 2012 at 7:58 pm and is filed under Review with tags Arch Enemy, Death growl, Death Metal, Morbid Angel. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.