Review Summary: While not perfect, Tracedawn's sophomore release is a shining example of Melodic Death Metal. The sheer talent and age of the band will certainly propel them into the spotlight in the years to come.
Tracedawn is:
Pekko Heikkilä / Bass
Perttu Kurttila / Drums
Antti Lappalainen / Vocals
Vili Itäpelto / Keyboards
Tuomas Yli-Jaskari / Guitars
Roni Seppänen / Guitars
Tracedawn is a rather recent band, so it comes not surprisingly that they are relatively unheard of. But that is certainly about to change. Hailing from Finland, they've put out their own brand of Melodic Death Metal in a genre that some may say is getting stale. These guys are pretty young, and they know how to play their instruments very well. I am sure we'll be hearing more about these guys in the coming years, especially if they manage to get a US tour together. They released their Self-Titled debut album last year, and while it was an excellent piece of Melodic Death Metal, it left more to be desired. All of that and more is fixed on Ego Anthem, the band's sophomore release.
The band starts out by kicking you in the face with their opening riff on "Make Amends". It shines as one of the most brutal riffs on the album. The screaming vocals are what you would expect from a Melodeath band, but what really grabs your attention is the clean vocals. They are surprisingly well done, and honestly they are the best parts of the album. The next track, "Part Of The Wounded", also has amazing vocals, and combines them with some well done synthesizers that don't detract from the music. The solo on this track is very good, it comes in the middle of the song, so it acts as a bridge between the choruses.
"Scum" is the third track on the album, and it's one of the heaviest as well. The song is heavily riff based while incorporating some well placed keyboards throughout. There is a sound clip in the beginning that helps build up to the solo, and this solo is even more well done than the one on "Part Of The Wounded". This track is one of the few that has no clean vocals at all, but I think that helps the album overall with every track sounding a little bit different.
And now we move on to the most melodic track on the album, "In Your Name". It's not surprising that they made this song into a single, and made a video for it. The clean vocals are again very well done, and very catchy. It's a pretty good balance in this song between clean and screaming vocals. Towards the end of the song, we get better riffing to make up for the poor guitar work in the beginning of the song, and the solo sure helps. They do use piano for a bit near the end, but other than that, the synthesizers seem to be relatively un-noticed in this song.
"Your Way Is Not For Me" starts out just like the other heavy songs, with pretty awesome riffs, but goes into the clean vocals surprisingly quick. The solo at the end is good, but not nearly as good as the ones on the other songs. Overall, I'd say this is the weakest song on the album. "Dirt Track Speedball" starts out with a very fast riff, and it's one of my favorites on the album. The mini-solo right before the vocals come in is one of my favorite moments on the song. We then get into the clean vocals, which prove to be better than some of the others on the album. However, this track makes an excellent use with the screaming vocals, and is one of the only tracks where they outshine the clean vocals. The solo is very effective on this track, bringing in one last chorus for the song.
"Repeating Mistakes" features some of the best guitar work on the album, and is one of the heavier tracks on the album, featuring no clean vocals just like "Scum". This is one of their faster solo's and it shines through to become one of the very best on the album. "Brain Attack" is my favorite song on the album, and for good reason. All of their instruments are perfectly used on this song, with the bass intro going into my favorite riff on the album. This is the only song where they go directly into clean vocals, but soon the screaming vocals come in as well. Synthesizers are used throughout and they are, again, the best on the album. The chorus and the riffs combine to make this song get stuck in your head for a very long time. As you could have expected, the solo is the best on the album, despite being shorter than the others. The drumwork in this song is very well done, and is one of the only tracks on the album where you can fully appreciate it.
The album closes with "The Forsaken" which starts out much slower than the others, and leads to a solo in the beginning. Despite being the slowest song on the album, it features no clean vocals and very very good keyboard and soloing efforts. A very good closer to the album, but it doesn't quick live up to "Brain Attack". My advice is to go and grab this album however you can, and support the band. These guys should get big very soon, and this album is testament to that. While the album is not perfect, it is a very good melodic death metal album. The Children Of Bodom comparisons are expected, but this band is much more progessive than Bodom, and their songs feature a variety that Bodom's songs lack. The only complaints I would give this album is that on some of the songs, they follow the old "riffage, chorus, solo, chorus" routine, and while some tracks break this pattern, it is predictable on some of the others. I highly recommend this album to any Melodic Death Metal fan or even an Progressive Death Metal fan. Ego Anthem is a definite step up from their debut, and a superb addition to any metal fans collection.
