Barren Earth - The Devil’s Resolve

This is the sophomore release of the Finish band’s acclaimed debut, “Curse of the Red River” back in 2010. The members of Amorphis, Swallow The Sun, Kreator and Moonsorrow… had excited most of the fans with this nice mix of 70s prog rock, doom, death & melodic metal… so the second album was somehow awaited by most of the fans that liked the debut.

 

They still mix those different music kinds… sometimes I get a feeling that Amorphis (first era)… has a bastard that’s like his father with lots of Swallow The Sun, 70s prog rock (Camel) and some Opeth, Paradise Lost and extreme/brutal characteristics. It may sound kind of absorbing but the truth is that it lacks inspiration and originality. What do I mean? Well, they play well, the production is excellent (the album was recorded and produced by Jukka Varmo and Barren Earth at Helsinki's Sonic Pump Studios), it has all those changes from death parts to mellow ones… as well as tempo changes but in the end it’s pretty forgettable. I was expecting something more fascinating than this one… especially from these musicians something way better than the first album and this album is not as good as the debut. Nice ideas here and there but not very good songwriting and some lame vocal lines at times. Those very brutal vocals… take me back to “Tales...” every so often… although this is not Amorphis… plus, they do not offer anything extra concerning the songs.

 

This is not bad… even though the transition from one genre to another is not so inspired and successful. If they do not have anything good or new to offer then better stay making music with their bands what’s the point of making a project if you’re playing what you used to play with your band? There are much better albums than this one out there… that will never get the chance… due to low budget… I prefer discovering new exciting bands than praise the same ones again and again… especially if they do not have anything stimulating to offer…