Fall of Serenity

Bloodred Salvation (2006)

Jordan Rogowski

Oh, will you look at that, another run-of-the-mill metal band being touted as the best thing to come out of Europe since the Beatles. Surely Fall of Serenity are different, they don't rely on the same other elements that every other similar band out of the continent in the last 10 years did. Surely they incorporate a variety of new and invigorating styles that will set them apart from their peers and allow them to create a masterpiece of an album.

Just as Taking Back Sunday has always told me, it was only wishful thinking.

Not to discount their efforts so early, but it's just that same old song. Well, 10 of those same old songs if you really want to get down to it, but that shouldn't be necessary. What is necessary is to understand that while this band isn't a staunch advocate of variety, they are good at what they do. That much I'll unequivocally grant them. There's five members in this band, and each of them make a large contribution at one point or another to the intense metal storm; well, except for the bassist who‘s rarely heard from. As with most similar bands, the strength lies in the guitarists. They're the cornerstones, the two guys that can simultaneously hold everything together and absolutely destroy it. Whether playing completely in sync or engaging each other in a ‘duel' of sorts, the playing of each betters the other, and pushes that person that much harder to really lay down some amazing solos or pummeling riffs.

The vocalist, for all intents and purposes, is pretty inconsequential. He holds his own, as many of his peers are able to do, but there's just nothing special about his approach. A terrific assortment of highs and lows are offered by singer Rene Betzold, but his average inflection is a rather forgettable one. He's an absolute force during the instances in which he appears, but it's nothing not heard before, and that's the roundabout point I didn't so quickly get at. He's no different than the double bass drumming that appears in every other band of this ilk, and no different than the lack of bass presence either. "Dead Eyes" incorporates an almost `90s dance-like atmosphere to the beginning, but it quickly fades away in favor of axe men Eddy Lagner and Alexander Fischer shredding their very fingers away.

Had they worked a bit more with brief electronic aspects such as that, they might be able to add an element to really shake things up and break the inevitable monotony of towering riffs and that thumping bass drum.

Bands like you are a dime a dozen, bands like you are a dime a dozen.