Metal Blade
2007
1. Ancient Prophecies
2. In The Hopes Of A Dream
3. Towards The Light
4. Inside The Cast
5. Darkness Fills The Sky
6. Condemned
7. Death Has Come
8. No Final Words To Say
9. Lies
10. Lost But Found
Symphorce are a band who have come a long way since their debut. Initially this band started off in a fairly typical power metal mold, but that mold has long since been broken. A pretty musically creative band, I've really enjoyed their sometimes quirky, dark synth effects and thick as hell pounding riffs that have become common in their sound since Twice Second. Symphorce tends toward some pretty interesting arrangements as well that tend to make their songs leap out at you.
Become Death follows fairly quickly on the heels of their last two which came out in 2004 and 2005, putting Symphorce on a pretty consistent release schedule lately. This one just grabs the beginning of 07. The opening track Ancient Prophecies announces it's presence early with a heavy chug and dark creeping feel in the now patented Symphorce sound. A solid start and one sure to please fans. From there though things get considerably more varied with some damn fine results. From the pounding beat of Towards The Light which reminds me a bit of german industrial at times to Darkness Fills The Sky which almost becomes a death metal song, this is one varied album in terms of songwriting. Then there are songs like Inside The Cast and No Final Words that make me wonder if mainman Andy Franck has been listening to Type O Negative lately. Inside The Cast is a damn catchy goth rocker and No Final Words To Say is a dismal, almost doomy ride. Andy Frack really branches out on this album vocally as well as he assumes a deep and melancholic voice for the above mentioned tracks, shifts to a harsh growl for Darkness Fills The Sky, and certainly stays true to his usual powerful Bruce Dickinson-esque power deliveries. All in all, this album manages to be very diverse without losing what Symphorce has become. A damn fine show in the realm of experimenting with one's sound and this certainly is anything but a stagnant, 'same old' sort of release.
The only gripe I have with this album really is that Symphorce continues to be intellectually bankrupt as far as lyrics go. I really wish this band would just hire an outside lyricist or something. Note that I said HIRE... I think most of us remember the stealing of lyrics fiasco associated with the Phorceful Ahead album. On this album though the band steals from someone else... themselves! 'You hear you screaming out my name' as part of the chorus on Condemened? Come on! That really drags down an otherwise fine song for me. The chorus is just a complete redo of Everlasting Time from the last album. Overall though I don't care too much about lyrics so long as the music is good and that's the only real instance of the lyrics hurting the music.
All in all this is a damn fine release and one power band with a dark sound that isn't intent on staying within a narrow, cookie cutter definition of what power is. Recommended to fans of bands like Steel Prophet, Nevermore, Eidolon, and Cathedral. If heavy, dark grooves and varied, stylistically adventurous songwriting is your thing then you should give this a try.
Highlights: Lost But Found, Death Has Come, Inside The Cast, Ancient Prophecies, Towards The Light
Rating - 4.0/5
2. In The Hopes Of A Dream
3. Towards The Light
4. Inside The Cast
5. Darkness Fills The Sky
6. Condemned
7. Death Has Come
8. No Final Words To Say
9. Lies
10. Lost But Found
Symphorce are a band who have come a long way since their debut. Initially this band started off in a fairly typical power metal mold, but that mold has long since been broken. A pretty musically creative band, I've really enjoyed their sometimes quirky, dark synth effects and thick as hell pounding riffs that have become common in their sound since Twice Second. Symphorce tends toward some pretty interesting arrangements as well that tend to make their songs leap out at you.
Become Death follows fairly quickly on the heels of their last two which came out in 2004 and 2005, putting Symphorce on a pretty consistent release schedule lately. This one just grabs the beginning of 07. The opening track Ancient Prophecies announces it's presence early with a heavy chug and dark creeping feel in the now patented Symphorce sound. A solid start and one sure to please fans. From there though things get considerably more varied with some damn fine results. From the pounding beat of Towards The Light which reminds me a bit of german industrial at times to Darkness Fills The Sky which almost becomes a death metal song, this is one varied album in terms of songwriting. Then there are songs like Inside The Cast and No Final Words that make me wonder if mainman Andy Franck has been listening to Type O Negative lately. Inside The Cast is a damn catchy goth rocker and No Final Words To Say is a dismal, almost doomy ride. Andy Frack really branches out on this album vocally as well as he assumes a deep and melancholic voice for the above mentioned tracks, shifts to a harsh growl for Darkness Fills The Sky, and certainly stays true to his usual powerful Bruce Dickinson-esque power deliveries. All in all, this album manages to be very diverse without losing what Symphorce has become. A damn fine show in the realm of experimenting with one's sound and this certainly is anything but a stagnant, 'same old' sort of release.
The only gripe I have with this album really is that Symphorce continues to be intellectually bankrupt as far as lyrics go. I really wish this band would just hire an outside lyricist or something. Note that I said HIRE... I think most of us remember the stealing of lyrics fiasco associated with the Phorceful Ahead album. On this album though the band steals from someone else... themselves! 'You hear you screaming out my name' as part of the chorus on Condemened? Come on! That really drags down an otherwise fine song for me. The chorus is just a complete redo of Everlasting Time from the last album. Overall though I don't care too much about lyrics so long as the music is good and that's the only real instance of the lyrics hurting the music.
All in all this is a damn fine release and one power band with a dark sound that isn't intent on staying within a narrow, cookie cutter definition of what power is. Recommended to fans of bands like Steel Prophet, Nevermore, Eidolon, and Cathedral. If heavy, dark grooves and varied, stylistically adventurous songwriting is your thing then you should give this a try.
Highlights: Lost But Found, Death Has Come, Inside The Cast, Ancient Prophecies, Towards The Light
Rating - 4.0/5
