Norther Album: “Mirror of Madness”

Finland definately has some great bands that comes out from its fridgid temperatures yearly. Amorphis, Children of Bodom, Sentenced, Kalmah, are just a few. However, when I purchased Norther's Mirror of Madness, I found yet another great album and band from Finland.

Now, I should get this out of the way first and foremost before going on. Norther does sound like Children of Bodom on Bodom's album Follow the Reaper, but only in two aspects. Number one, the vocals. The vocals definately sound like Alexi Laiho, I mean, almost indestinguishable. Not that this is a bad thing, but people could get confused if they don't know who Bodom is to begin with. Like COB, Norther uses a dual guitar attack with melodic and harmonizing keyboards. Unlike Children of Bodom however, Norther uses their keyboards more as a seperate independent entity, meaning the keyboards are more in the background then in Children of Bodom, who uses their keyboards heavily to influence the guitars, especially the leads. Norther uses the keyboards not to necessarily flow with the guitars, but to compliment them in certain fills, and to be used as a completely seperate instrument.

As I mentioned eariler, vocalist Petri Lindroos sounds almost exactly like Alexi. However, he also plays lead guitar, like Alexi...but hes an excellent guitarist with some blazing solos on this album. Now even though he even looks like Alexi, could probably pass as his long lost brother, right down to the black painted finger nails, this is only a very eerie thing I am pointing out to anyone who watches the bonus video that comes on the USA version.

Now the music itself. Norther's music is much more mid tempo and mid paced then bands like Kalmah and Children of Bodom. Where as Kalmah is more black metal, and Bodom is much more fast paced thrash, Norther goes inbetween and blends very nicely, a mixture of mid paced, melodic thrash black metal. The guitars, like a lot of Finland bands, sounds like there is a lot of chorus or reverb on them to give them that special "Finland" sound. Even though some of the songs on this album are mid paced, Norther does pick it up pretty damn fast in songs such as "Blackhearted" and the title track "Mirror of Madness". The bass on this album is heavy hitting, with some impressive lines that compliment the hammering drums nicely.

The one thing that makes Norther stand above Children of Bodom are the lyrics. Where as Children of Bodom's lyrics are very short, not seemingly to be well thought out, and just thrown onto an album as an after thought, Norther's lyrics are much more in depth, and more well written.

Is Norther better then Children of Bodom? In my opinion no, but they sound great anyway and I look forward to many more releases from this band.

Memorable Tracks: Blackhearted, Unleash Hell, Mirror of Madness

After a very harsh beginning, Norther was finally able to reach a standing debut entitled -Dreams Of Endless War-. It was a rounding success, but Norther was acclaimed as Children Of Bodom rip-offs or sound-alikes. To me, Norther has their own uniqueness that separates them totally from what Children Of Bodom offer. First of all, COB shred fast with blazing solos and chugging riffs that pound the living daylights out of the listener, while atop Alexi's one and only vocals. Norther however, takes a more melodic approach with less speed and more dynamics, while atop vocals that are shy of Alexi's. One thing for sure, these guys are almost unheard on an international level, although since their latest one they have been garnering attention in Europe and Japan, rather than just Finland.

"Blackhearted" and "Betrayed" are almost identical in riffs, but their tunes separate with the fast rhythm and keys. "Cry" is my second favorite, chugs with a great riff and chorus. The two highlights are the keyboard solo, which is beautiful and majestic in all aspects, and the guitar solo, which by no means breaks any new grounds, but is extremely catchy and fun. "Dead" is entirely slow and begins with a riff similar to In Flames' "Bullet Ride". The break is the keyboard turn and the guitar solo in the middle.

My favorite comes last with the title track, "Mirror Of Madness". This was their only video from this album for a good reason. A very frosty riff and guitar backdrop linger behind Petri's pissed off vocals. The guitar solos in this are very exquisite and fast. The album ends with the track playing one of the best endings, with fast shredding and a lasting tune after the words "Forever Gone!"

Whether you are Thrash, Death, Black, or Power, any Metal fan would not be content without this record in his or her library. Yes, it is worth it to get the version that has bonus tracks, as those tracks have signature tunes to them as well. Nine tracks of devotion, emotion, and pure Metal from one of Finland's finest.

Seriously, how can you not like this stuff? It's halfway between Children of Bodom and Kalmah, with a little more black metal than COB but not as much as Kalmah, some extremely cool piano lines, and the most "majesty" in sound you'll find this side of Emperor or Blind Guardian. If you like metal with melody, if you like Finland, you cannot help but like this band.

Never failing to amaze, Norther delivers another great album. Right on par with Death Unlimited, Mirror of Madness really shows what Norther is capable of. The songs, while sticking to the death metal core, all feature a piano part that sounds like chorus, adding an almost epic sound to the songs. This is a great album to introduce yourself to this band.

Yeah.. it sounds like bodom, but they are not copying them at all. Keyboard solos, fast guitar riffs and almost identical vocals. For ANY bodom fan, Mirror of Madness is a must to complete your melodic death metal collection. Almost every track is awsome and you will not be dissapointed at all.