Spring Break
MADE OF METAL: No absence of talent here
by Daniel D. Snyder
Associate Editor
Music | 9/18/07
Posted online at 1:59 AM EST on 9/18/07
/ Last updated at 8:01 PM EST on 9/18/07
Melodic Death Metal (Melo-Death for short) is a drug. When the stuff began hemorrhaging out of Scandinavia in the mid-90s, it seemed like Metalheads worldwide couldn't get enough of the stuff. Bands like The Gates, Dark Tranquility and (uuuuugh) In Flames adorned awkwardly oversized black T-shirts everywhere. The marriage of brutal, American Death Metal and sophisticated, serene European melodies was a match made in heaven, one that continues to give birth to countless acts well into the new millennium.
It would be poor form for me to deny my own very passionate love affair with this beast. I became acquainted with Melo-Death around 2002, just as everyone else was growing weary of her charms. But for me, there was nothing else. It had the infectious melody and rhythmic accessibility necessary to remain memorable, but maintained enough of a harsh, metallic edge to make me feel like a total badass. Like all trends, Melo-Death had its fair share of detractors. People called it derivative, boring and overplayed, but that never stopped me from exploring the genre even unto its innermost parts. I always took its far-reaching influence as a sign of just how much the style spoke to Metalheads everywhere.
These days, traditional Melodic Death Metal is almost nonexistent, though its fingerprints can be found on many of Metal's more prevalent trends. Acts like Unearth took the template and glued it to a frame of traditional Hardcore, spawning yet another overly popular genre, modern Metalcore. Still, every now and then, a band will emerge from the masses still carrying the genre's flag with pride, skill and confidence.
In this particular case, that band in question is The Absence. From its Tampa stomping grounds, The Absence has made a very respectable name for itself delivering slightly Americanized, but fundamentally traditional, late '90s Melodic Death Metal. In an arena currently dominated by deliberately spastic and technical Metalcore, a release like Riders of The Plague is refreshing both in its content and Metal-with-a-capital-M attitude.
It would be poor form for me to deny my own very passionate love affair with this beast. I became acquainted with Melo-Death around 2002, just as everyone else was growing weary of her charms. But for me, there was nothing else. It had the infectious melody and rhythmic accessibility necessary to remain memorable, but maintained enough of a harsh, metallic edge to make me feel like a total badass. Like all trends, Melo-Death had its fair share of detractors. People called it derivative, boring and overplayed, but that never stopped me from exploring the genre even unto its innermost parts. I always took its far-reaching influence as a sign of just how much the style spoke to Metalheads everywhere.
These days, traditional Melodic Death Metal is almost nonexistent, though its fingerprints can be found on many of Metal's more prevalent trends. Acts like Unearth took the template and glued it to a frame of traditional Hardcore, spawning yet another overly popular genre, modern Metalcore. Still, every now and then, a band will emerge from the masses still carrying the genre's flag with pride, skill and confidence.
In this particular case, that band in question is The Absence. From its Tampa stomping grounds, The Absence has made a very respectable name for itself delivering slightly Americanized, but fundamentally traditional, late '90s Melodic Death Metal. In an arena currently dominated by deliberately spastic and technical Metalcore, a release like Riders of The Plague is refreshing both in its content and Metal-with-a-capital-M attitude.
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