Norther - N
Norther’s fifth studio album, simply entitled N, is their self-declared most mature and diverse effort to date. The successor of Till Death Unites Us was recorded and produced by long-time partner Anssi Kippo (Children Of Bodom) at Astia Studios and mixed by Fredrik Nordström (Dark Tranquillity, Arch Enemy, In Flames) at Studio Fredman in Sweden.These two men (Kippo being responsible for the production of Mirror Of Madness and Death Unlimited and Nordström who recorded Till Death Unites Us ), who are both very conscious of Norther’s capabilities, have done a great job in creating a very solid record when you look at the production.
Norther’s sound on N is however a little less heavy than on the previous records. Opening track ‘My Antichrist’ is hot as fire, starting with furious melodic death metal and a catchy chorus, and also ‘Frozen Angel’ contains some brutal outbursts, but after listening to the complete record you feel way more relaxed than you would presume after hearing only the first two tracks. Songs like ‘Savior’, ‘If You Go’ and the final track ‘Forever And Ever’ are more down tempo and even hint towards ballads.
The slight change of their sound also causes that they’re loosing their immemorial “CoB-rip off”-predicate more and more. I find the sound on N, as they say by themselves, more one of their own. It’s full of great musicianship. Endless melodies by both guitar and keyboards pass by, and also the drums are of an excellent level. The only thing I can carp on are the aforementioned few down tempo songs, as in they are meant to be more radio-friendly. Further on, just top class melodic death metal.
83/1001Details Century Media
Released on Wednesday Feb 13th, 2008
Melodic Death Metal
Writer @Mindsaver on Monday Feb 25th, 2008
Tags: #Norther
Tracklisting
01. My Antichrist
02. Frozen Angel
03. Down
04. To Hell
05. Savior
06. Black Gold
07. We Rock
08. Always&Never
09. Tell Me Why
10. If You Go
11. Self-Righteous Fuck
12. Forever And Ever
02. Frozen Angel
03. Down
04. To Hell
05. Savior
06. Black Gold
07. We Rock
08. Always&Never
09. Tell Me Why
10. If You Go
11. Self-Righteous Fuck
12. Forever And Ever
Line up
Petri 'Pete' Lindroos - Harsh Vocals, Guitar
Kristian 'Kride' Ranta - Clean Vocals, Guitar
Jukka Koskinen - Bass
Tuomas Planman - Keyboards
Heikki 'Kermis' Saari - Drums
Kristian 'Kride' Ranta - Clean Vocals, Guitar
Jukka Koskinen - Bass
Tuomas Planman - Keyboards
Heikki 'Kermis' Saari - Drums