Artist: Redemption
Title: This Mortal Coil
Genre: Progressive Metal
Release Date: 26th September 2011
Label: InsideOut Music
Album Review
‘This Mortal Coil’ is REDEMPTION’s most personal album to date. While much of this U.S. Progressive Metal outfit has always been personal, especially in the view of relationships, their most current album leans towards the meaning of life itself and what it means to individuals. Perhaps the most inspirational part of ‘This Mortal Coil’s’ creation was guitarist Nick van Dyk being diagnosed with blood cancer, and with such a ‘supposed’ limited amount of time, the songwriting process for the album came naturally. In turn, tracks like ‘No Tickets To The Funeral’, ‘Being Again’, ‘Departure Of The Pale Horse’, and ‘Stronger Than Death’ all echo the precious nature of life vs. death. The music also is darker, but still highly melodic and echoing the words from EVERGREY to DREAM THEATER. ‘Dreams From The Pit’ is an excellent example of how REDEMPTION is so diverse in their sound, starting out heavy and then shifting to a classical piano part as opposed to the wavering backing synth keyboard sound, and even the bass shines clearly which is a rare thing when the guitars and vocals are going at full blast in the band. ‘Let It Rain’ is one of the softer songs on the album, which complements a heavy blaster like ‘Path Of The Whirlwind’. Some might call it melodramatic, but vocalist Ray Alder (also known for his work in FATES WARNING) couldn’t put on a better vocal performance than here with Dyk being a master at the keyboard.
‘Perfect’ aims for better vocal harmonies in the Progressive Metal vein whereas ‘Stronger Than Death’ picks things back up on the heavier side, but still retains the melodic bit. The riffs have the right chugs to draw in listeners, but at the same time heavier tracks like these have more distortion which blots out a lot of the other instruments. Then there is the gigantic epic ‘Departure Of The Pale Horse’, which couldn’t have been a more fitting title (the Pale Horse being Death). It starts out very low key with the synth - building up the drama - and then the guitars slowly come in with the vocals. Throughout the song, which sometimes has its heavy moments, listeners can feel a sense of calm and acceptance, like a final realization that the journey is over after such turmoil of a struggling album. Here, the best parts of bands like SYMPHONY X and DREAM THEATER can be heard, especially in the keyboards. While REDEMPTION do their best not to copy THEATER’s work altogether, one can’t help but smile at the references. Overall, some might say ‘This Mortal Coil’ is trying to steal the thunder of INTO ETERNITY’S ‘The Incurable Tragedy’, also a cancer based album that deals with the struggles of life. However, fans who are already into this group will argue that the personal nature of the album makes ‘This Mortal Coil’ the best work that REDEMPTION has created to date, as it is probable that no such shooting star will come across again to bring up the inspiration to create a second album like it. This is REDEMPTION’S moment.
Tracklist
01. Path Of The Whirlwind - 5:26
02. Blink Of An Eye - 5:57
03. No Tickets To The Funeral - 6:26
04. Dreams From The Pit - 9:11
05. Noonday Devil - 5:03
06. Let It Rain - 7:21
07. Focus - 5:43
08. Perfect - 4:48
09. Begin Again - 6:11
10. Stronger Than Death - 5:29
11. Departure Of The Pale Horse - 10:15
Line-up
Nick van Dyk – Guitars, Keyboards
Ray Alder – Vocals
Bernie Versailles – Guitars
Sean Andrews – Bass
Chris Quirarte – Drums
Website
www.redemptionweb.com
Cover Picture
Rating
Sound: 8
Music : 8
Total: 8 / 10
Comments powered by CComment