Review Summary: Austria’s finest deliver the goods once again on sophomore effort.
Just a shade under a year and a half after the release of their debut album, The Sorrow are back with their follow up,
Origins Of The Storm. Extensive touring has given the young crew the chance to play stages as big as Wacken Open Air alongside the likes of Children Of Bodom, Chimaira and Killswitch Engage. This experience is clearly noticeable with the maturity on this record. The band has had 18 months to allow their sound to grow and find a balance between heaviness and melody which suits them best. With Origin Of The Storm the band have found their true comfort zone. The Sorrow are now a confident bludgeoning force, playing with their own style and approach to metal and determined to blast all competition out of the water.
While The Sorrow have done well not to abandon their roots and the foundation on which they summoned their colossal first album, they instead chose to build on this and allow their sound to take on a new form. While
Blessings From A Blackened Sky pummeled the listener into taking notice (and to tremendous effect), Origin Of The Storm differs in the sense that, for the most part, it is more groove orientated and melodic. The brutal thrashing and riffing is still by all means present, it just sounds more comfortably played. Breakdowns are a big part here once again; however, they combine with the music more naturally on this record than pervious. The band has made people take notice through pure grit and perseverance and have acquired an impressive fan base along the way. It is clear the Austrian quartet have the fullest belief in their abilities and are set to do things their way and using a range of techniques spanning the genre, this album has something for every fan of metal.
The first impact of the bands fresh sound delivers its first blow almost instantaneously, second track “Where Is The Sun?” is a truly weighty piece of work. A sky scraping chorus is accompanied by the band’s signature style of shredding riff blended intricately over an almost imperceptible, natural sounding breakdown. An album highlight but the young Austrians are only warming up. Vocally, this CD is a step up from their previous endeavor, this time preferring to extend their ranges high and low and not sticking to the same formula. All three vocalists the band is equipped with have raised their game in impressive fashion. Their most impressive exhibition of talents is undoubtedly “Heaven Is No Place For Us”. Shrieking Highs, guttural lows and more of the brilliant guitar work we come to expect make this a punishing affair. “From This Day On” is maybe the most melodic song the band has produced thus far. Intricate guitar work is followed by the style of riff we now expect from this band; crushing. This feeds into some melodic passages and is complimented by another assured vocal display. A neat solo in the beautifully malevolent “Scars” displays the true flair of guitar work here, however, if breakdowns are your thing then “Tempestuous” will undoubtedly be a tiny gem for you. A mere 1:22 of an instrumental features a massive breakdown, razor sharp grinding riffs and some fantastic drum work.
While
Origin Of The Storm may not be as heavy as their debut, it still packs an unmerciful punch without losing any of its technicality and features more sophisticated elements. For anyone not a fan of
Blessings From A Blackened Sky you may find this excursion slightly more accessible. A stunning return from a band that are now fully comfortable in their skin. Lacking neither talent nor confidence, the results of such a combination are clear for all to see here. Roll on album number three.
yeah it really did lack a closer of that magnitude. Still a great album though it has to be said.
