|
2000 The End Records
|
Upon the Shores of Inner Seas
|
-
Downstairs
-
Late To Revise
-
Eternal Moan
-
Bliss
-
Against My Will
-
Breakdown
-
Stained
-
Amidst The Waves'99
|
Line-Up
Sergey Dmitriev - Vocal/Guitar
Konstantin Kuznetsov - Lead Guitar
Michael "MAIDEN" Smirnoff - Keyboards
Denis Samusev - Bass
Igor Dmitriev - Drums
|
|
|
|
At this point, I don't think that anything that I write could do this
album justice. In a nutshell, Mental Home here have atoned for every pompous
entry into the annals of classically based metal. Which is where
the true irony enters into play
here, for by every account, I should find Upon the Shores... an overblown
affair laden with cheap keyboard sounds and triggered drums, yet instead
I have found an album with which I can easily connect to. Having
all of the ingredients does not necessitate fine cuisine, something necessary
needed to add the extra spark required to make the average superior.
Call it what you will, but in this regard Mental Home excel, and as I've
tried to say simply in the last 5 sentences, the album is amazing. I curse
my ineptitude and blocky writing, for what this album truly deserves is
something poetically written to explain the incredible use of melody, but
with me as your guide through this, you'll have to accept my words.
"Reviewing" this is difficult, partially because I'm constantly hearing
something new, but also because this is a body of work better left undissected
and experienced as a whole. I mentioned classically based,
and this may be an ignorant statement, but the arrangements here remind
me of works that I have heard (albeit in limited quantity), seamlessly
put together, allowing complex structures to ebb and flow, part of what
makes this album so necessary. There are human flaws, a forced drum
fill here,
some iffy production there, but this all becomes a part of the album,
and when one of the many guitar solos comes through your speakers, demanding
your attention, any small marks are instantly forgotten. To me, comparable
to Dissection in that the album transcends anything else in terms of the
degree of emotional content. Highly, highly recommended to any and all
that find "beauty in darkness".
10 out of 10
|