Finnland's Entwine may be the best gothic/romantic metal band that exists at the present time. They have created a near-perfect sound with their use of ultra-heavy, but not overly complex guitars, haunting keyboards, and searing vocals. This is one of those bands that seems to get better and more refined with every release. I own their previous two releases: "Gone" and "Time of Despair". I thought Gone was good, and T.O.D. was twice as good, and i was wondering if they could ever top that album. my doubts were quickly silenced with one listen of Dieversity. it is a great travesty that they are not headlining US tours right now. They very easily could be, if they had a little more exposure. This is one of the best metal albums of 2004 so far.
I have no idea why, but Finland has a disproportionate number of really fantastic bands. Entwine is not only one of them, but is in my opinion one of the best in the world in their respective genre. For better or worse, that genre is Goth Metal. However, I find that categorization to be somewhat inappropriate, as Entwine's tone and lyrics are on the whole far less melancholy than the majority of the bands in the genre. And I think that Entwine would be more accurately tagged as simply being a great Metal/Hard Rock band, period.
Entwines singer Mika Tauriainen has a voice that is very appealing to me, as it is powerful and is for the most part free of the melodramatic stylings that permeate the genre. As is typical with this genre there are very few guitar solos, but the guitar work that is present here is very good, so no other complaints. The drumming here is pretty straightforward, but it's very lively and has sufficient personality to make it interesting. Also worthy of note is the fact that there are keyboards on this CD, which typically I do not care for in the least. In fact, generally speaking, I hate keyboards. However, the tasteful usage of keyboards on this album are so beautifully integrated into the music that I honestly can not imagine some of these songs without them.
If you are a fan of Goth Metal it really doesn't get much better than this. 'Dieversity' is outstanding from start to finish, and is simply one of the best albums the genre has ever produced. It is well written, well produced, well mixed and has an outstanding, crunchy, muli-layered sound. It is very clear that this album wasn't hastily written and thrown together, as you can hear the passion and the time that went into it. 'Dieversity' is the best mainstream(ish) Hard Rock album I've purchased in probably two years. It is devoid of the uninspired formulaic awfulness that currently pervades "popular" mainstream American Hard Rock/Metal. However, most Americans are blissfully ignorant of what the rest of the World has to offer anyway. And I'll just stop there before I go on a lengthy pent-up rant.
FYI - Entwine's 2006 album 'Fatal Design' is another outstanding effort, that is very, very close to being as good as this one. And both are without question genre essential albums. You'd be doing yourself a solid in getting this album or both ASAP.
If you'd like to view two excellent Entwine videos just click on the "Comment" link below.
Finland can do no wrong when it comes to good gothic rock. Love this album. Beautiful guitar work with a melancholy soul.
I picked up this album just coz of a whim...cause i liked the name of the band....id never heard of them or any of their songs before...and just when i popped it into my player ....did i get some headbanging stuff or what! Track 2 (bitter Sweet) is the best track on this album and my favourite song for quite a long time to come.....the other songs ...Frozen By The Sun, Someone To Blame are exceptional...others are very good but these three are the best here....and be assured this album rocks...Finnish Goth Metal never got better...thats for sure!!
So if anyone is a goth metal fan (ex: Evanescence) you sure will love this album more than Fallen.
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