www.mygrain1.com
www.myspace.com/mygrain
Genre: Melodic Death Metal
Track List:
1. Into the Parallel Universe (5:33)
2. Shadow People (4:29)
3. Dust Devils and Cosmic Storms (4:51)
4. Of Immortal Aeons (5:40)
5. A Clockwork Apocalypse (6:18)
6. Eye of the Void (5:20)
7. Trapped in an Hourglass (5:51)
8. Xenomorphic (6:07)
9. Cataclysm Child (6:36)
Overview
MyGRAIN are a little known Finnish band that, with the coming of their new self-titled album, have really attempted to break into the scene this time around. I have been a fan of them already for many years, their first album 'Orbit Dance' is my favourite debut album ever, and one of my favourite overall albums. Despite their high quality work, recognition has not really been forthcoming, which is unusual considering they are signed under the metal-giants Spinefarm. This time Spinefarm have pushed the boat out, with myGRAIN's first ever video single 'Of Immortal Aeons' released and another for 'A Clockwork Apocalypse' in the pipeline. They have shot for the big time, and so this album could really prove make or break for the band, so what kind of sound can you expect?
MyGRAIN's usage of keyboards, played by the very talented Eve, is one thing that really differentiates them from the masses of other bands. Rather than the blitzing solos of Janne Wirman from Children of Bodom, Eve's style is more rhythmic and melodious. The progression of Eve's keyboard style is the main thing changing with each successive album. In 'Orbit Dance' it was very much in the background providing a subtle layer of atmosphere, but has steadily taken more of a front seat each time round. Tommy's vocals remain at his consistent high level, switching effortlessly from fearsome roars to soft melodies. Despite gaining a new lead guitar in the form of Mr Downhill, the fast paced and powerful riffing has changed little, bar the addition of a few solos which were previously lacking.
Review
Lets start with 'Of Immortal Aeons', the first ever video single from the band. The more prevailant keyboard is immediately obvious but after a great build up involving some pounding rhythm guitar it is let down slightly when the vocals kick in, with a fairly poor drum sequence providing minor background irritance. This 'fast drumming' can be viewed at just after 0:40 on the video below and appears a few times throughout the song. I think it sounds really quite unprofessional when I hear it in songs, but on this album this is the only song it appears noticably in. Brushing this critisism aside the cleanly sung chorus is both catchy and haunting, and overall the song's quality is such that it remains good despite doing something that I personally dislike a lot. I really found with this song in particular that it took multiple playthroughs to start appreciating it.
I believe the standout song is the introductory track 'Into the Parallel Universe'. Appropriately it is the beginning of this track that really shines - the quiet, acoustic beginning leading into a blazing combo of guitar and keyboard that really is breathtaking. The structure of the song is based around it's strong chorus, with the one flaw being it's length. The band mentioned prior to this album's release that they were looking to universally increase the length of their songs, however I don't feel it has worked. Almost every song on the album feels worse from being dragged out slightly too long, especially tracks like 'A Clockwork Apocalypse' and 'Cataclym Child'. These two are some of the better songs on the album, the former having strong rhythm guitar throughout and the latter leaning heavily upon it's fairly good chorus, a trait it shares with 'Dust Devils and Cosmic Storms'.
The two worst tracks on the album are easily 'Eye of the Void' and 'Xenomorphic'. 'Xenomorphic' goes through phases, some segments of the song feel very poorly constructed but some are actually really quite good, such as the section just after the introduction (which includes, unfortunately, more fast drumming). It rapidly interweaves very soft and heavy sections, which some of the best songs I can think of do, but 'Xenomorphic' does it poorly indeed, leading to something that just feels totally unstructured. 'Eye of the Void' is merely a completely forgettable song, with almost nothing to make it stand out aside from a chorus where Tommy's voice seems to take a bizarre turn towards becoming uncomfortably high pitched.
Conclusion
I really, really wanted this album to be amazing. For me, myGRAIN utterly deserves it's break, but this is just not the best example of their work. To be fair I feel they had a massive amount of work to do in order to top 'Orbit Dance' but this doesn't stop me being ultimately disappointed. The music feels like it is reaching for an over-arching tone of the dramatic yet never quite makes it. Some consistent critisisms are the length of the tracks and the fact that most of the songs are fairly forgettable, with 'Eye of the Void' best embodying this.
I mentioned earlier how the involvement of the keyboard had changed, and I feel this is an issue that needs to be addressed. For me, a huge reason why 'Orbit Dance' was so great, was Eve's keyboard. It featured less in 'Orbit Dance' than either of the other two albums, yet achieved the most prominent effect, providing some really powerful moments. In this latest album, I actually still feel it is fantastically played, and is integral in almost all the album's best moments, but I preferred the style of it's predecessor. The album is by no means bad, I feel it is slightly better than 'Signs of Existence', but when trying to make that leap towards becoming a major band they really needed to be at their very best. When I think about it, every member bar maybe the drums performs very well, so I think it is more a case of structure. This can be changed and improved, so I have hope yet. I implore you to have a listen, and have faith in them so that they can achieve the status I feel they deserve.
Score: 7/10
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