Dark Age have released their newest incarnation of melody driven death with Acedia. Roughly translated Acedia means “Lethargy Of the Mind.” Only one question remains, will these Germans’ new album invigorate the listener, or lull them to sleep?
From the very opening of “Kingdom Nevercome,” you are hit with melodic death metal in full force. The guitars are layered with cool synths and keys that instantly greet your inner ear. Frontman Eike Freese does a pretty solid job on his multiple vocal fronts. His bark is your standard gruff affair, while his melodic vocals are so overdubbed at times that they sound like a robot. They’re not bad – just distracting and too over produced.
The very Paradise Lost/Amorphis style “Devote Yourself To Nothing” comes out blasting next. Melody abounds as the guitars, keys, and drums all run in tandem; and to be honest, it’s pretty freakin’ cool. Dark Age really seem to find their groove with this track, making it a must listen.
Wanna dance? Well, Acedia has a hip shaker that will be pumping in European discotheques all night long with “Zeitgeist (Ghost In A Machine).” Right out of the gate, I was thinking “is this a lost Rob Zombie track or something?” It seems to run at the same pace, vibe, and even has the same cadence during the verses as many of Zombie’s hits. There are parts of the song that are pretty solid with Freese screaming over nasty riffs here and there. But, the problem lies in the choruses where they tend to drip with pop-metal cheesiness.
“Halo Meridian” is a blistering track…well, at least for a while. There are moments where I’m hearkened back to Amorphis’s Elegy album, then quickly drug away (like in a horror movie) screaming “where are you taking me!?” The blazing melodic riffs in the chorus are really ear catching; but, once again, the song swiftly changes gears into these slow momentum killers. Then, just as you get used to that, Dark Age switch it up again by throwing in some old school thrash riffs for good measure, I guess.
Probably the best song on the album is “Underneath These Burdens.” The blinding double bass gives way to big melodic six strings and some awesome keyboard work. At times, I could hear some Peter TÃĪgtgren (Hypocrisy) in Freese’s voice which fits in perfectly with the really cool bounce they incorporated in certain spots.
I don’t even know what they were thinking with “Babylon Riots.” The opening is stellar, but to be honest, that’s the ONLY redeeming part. The song comes off as one part butt-rock and the other part like a heavy metal Duran Duran. The only problem is that Duran Duran would feel extremely slighted with that comparison. The song has an abundance of gooey stylings and gang vocals that are way overdone.
Honestly, Acedia is an album that could go either way for fans of this genre. One thing that is essential for bands like this is balance, and unfortunately, this album has very little, if any. Dark Age aren’t breaking any new ground, and seem to lack the direction and consistency needed to take it to the next level. At times Acedia does have some charm, but those moments are few and far between.
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