Published on Dec 6, 2000
On one hand, I should be thankful there is a band like Entombed
out there on the market. They’re from Sweden, but they don’t play
Viking metal. They’re a metal band, but they refuse to follow a
clear, cut-and-dried path that would make them easy to shove into a
certain genre. In an age of digital wizardry, they prefer to have a
layer of sonic grit on their music, as evidenced on their latest
disc
Uprising.
On the other hand, I wonder what it would have been like if the
production had been a little clearer, or if vocalist L-G Petrov had
been moved a little more into the foreground of the mix – or even
if the band had tried to narrow down their musical attack so it
would be a little easier to follow them.
Entombed, despite releasing several albums over the years (many
of which I’ve downloaded from E-Music, and plan on reviewing here
soon), might be one of the best-kept secrets in metal. Their
approach to the music is kind of like what would happen if Helmet
met Black Flag. There’s a seriousness in the lyrics (save for their
cover of Dead Horse’s “Scottish Hell”), yet there’s kind of a
sloppy devil-may-care attitude that helps to propel the music
forward.
The end result is a bit of a mixed bag. Tracks like “Returning
To Madness,” “Insanity’s Contagious” and “Seeing Red” all
demonstrate just how good Entombed can be, while others such as
“Time Out,” “Something Out Of Nothing” and “In The Flesh” tend to
get a little bogged down by a tidal wave of sound. It’s not that
Uprising is bad, it’s just a little unsure of itself – but I
guess that’s what happens when you blaze trails in unexplored
territory.
Of the three bonus tracks tacked on to this disc, “Superior” and
“The Only Ones” stand out. The remaining track, “Words,” falls prey
to the same traps as the lesser tracks on
Uprising.
I can’t say for sure if
Uprising is the best place for newcomers to start exploring
Entombed, but as long as they’re willing to invest some time with
this disc and allow themselves to grow into the adventure Entombed
wants to take them on, it’s not a bad first choice.