Published on Mar 31, 2000
Quick: Imagine what it would sound like if someone like James
Hetfield fronted Days Of The New.
Germany’s Darkseed kind of remind me of such a strange musical
marriage. Their latest disc,
Diving Into Darkness, has all of the classic metal
framework, but the band seems to to be more concerned about
structuring a solid vocal and a solid song than they are about
playing with all guns blazing. It’s an interesting concept, and a
refreshing one.
Can you tell that I like these guys? More than that; I
love this album.
Side note: I’m not listing the members of the band for the
simple reason that I’m getting conflicting information about
lineups from the official band site and the page for them on
Nuclear Blast’s site. I’m also working off an advance copy, so if
you want the details on the band, read the liner notes.
Darkseed might be a German band, but their music transcends any
country styles that you might expect. All in all, the music has a
general feel and crunch to it, something that is rare when dealing
with overseas metal. Darkseed’s vibe refuses to be pigeonholed by
their nationality; instead, the band charges forth on tracks like
“Forever Darkness,” “Counting Moments” and “Rain” and proceeds to
win the listener over with two important keys.
The first is songwriting. Whatever your opinion on heavy metal,
even the strongest opponent of the genre would have to agree that
the songwriting on
Diving Into Darkness is top notch. Simply put, there is not
a dead track on this disc, proving that a lot of time and effort
went into crafting the best possible album this band could do.
The second is vocals. There is no ear-piercing screaming on this
disc; instead, you have solid vocal performances that appeal to the
heart as well as the eardrum. For that alone, listeners should be
eternally grateful that someone in this genre cares about laying
down a solid vocal presence.
Track-wise, I dare you to find one lemon among these songs. You
can’t. Tracks like “Cold Under Water,” “Left Alone” and “Autumn”
all suggest that when metal makes its comeback (as I’ve been saying
it will for the last year or so), Darkseed is going to be one of
the bands at the top of the heap.
Diving Into Darkness is an absolutely wonderful album that
shows off the best of this genre. Unless you’ve followed the band
since their debut in the early ’90s, you might not have heard of
them until now. Chances are, once you’ve experienced this disc, you
won’t be able to stop talking about them.