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Assailant
Album: Wicked Dream
Release Date: July 29, 2008
Label: Locomotive Records



Track Listing
01. A Day Tomorrow
02. Wicked Dream
03. The Sin
04. Fade Away
05. …From the Hour of Birth
06. Catch 22
07. Soul Degenerate
08. Evolution of the Wind
09. The Cell
10. Eternal (Acoustic Version)
11. Instincts

Reviewer: Doug

After the successful release of their first album, Nemesis, the melodic metal band from Sweden is back with their next disc. Assailant offers up an even more powerful effort this time around on Wicked Dream, which easily eclipses their previous work.

Noticeable right from the beginning is the streamlined production. Everything sounds much more polished and clear. This is especially with the keyboards. On the band’s last album, they were frequently inaudible and even sounded a bit gimmicky on the songs where they were fleshed out in a richer texture. Now, however, they’re layering is quite lush and really injects a new level of depth and emotion into the songs. Peder Sandström even gets some well deserved solo opportunities.

Peder isn’t the only member who sounds better, either. In fact, the whole band such much tighter and fluid together. Lead singer Peder Sundqvist vocals are really impressive with the heightened production values. Previously, I felt that his vocals became a bit raspy to the point of being intolerable at times. I realize now that was partly due to the quality found on the last release. His unique voice blends together the moods of each track well. Whether it is during the gruff, shrieking moments that remind me a little of David Draiman’s delivery, or when he is singing in a cleaner, more melodious tone, it all comes out great.

Great guitarists certainly run in Oskar Norberg’s family. Brother’s Emil of Persuader/Savage Circus and Nils formerly of Nocturnal Rites certainly must have created some sibling rivalry amongst the three. But Oskar proves he can shred with the best of them. Churning out complex solos and catchy riffs, he shows that he can stand his ground.

Alas, amidst all of this forward progress lies a pitfall that a lot of albums stumble into. Of course I am referring to the issue of redundancy and diversity between tracks. The album starts off strong, but when it hits halfway point around “Catch 22,” you might start thinking to yourself “didn’t I just hear this song?” Fortunately the leap isn’t too far down. The dark, brooding number, aptly titled “The Cell,” brings us back up from our decent.

The new, acoustic rendition of “Eternal” is also another highlight here. This is a much more emotionally charged version that is draped with elegant keyboard playing and momentous drumming. Actually, the acoustic guitar is downplayed the most.

Final Verdict
Assailant manages to avoid the sophomore slump with their second release and push the envelope further with Wicked Dream. The slick production vastly enhances their sound while not letting things become overtly glossy. Fans ranging from Nevermore to Soilwork to Evergrey would do themselves well to check out another potentially great, rising metal act.

Rating
8.50 out of 10

Source:
http://www.reviewbusters.net/music/review.aspx?id=1297

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Though becoming more popular, the fusion of Gothenburg and Power Metal is rare to come across. Rarer more, is to find an act that does this, and doesn't rip off Children of Bodom. Well, Assailant, a band from Umea, Sweden, is certainly one of these bands. Their sound can be described as what would happen if Gamma Ray met Nocturnal Rites, and took a vacation to Gothenburg for a year or so.

Unlike other bands who claim to be playing "Gothenburg Power Metal", Assailant keeps vocals very much power metal style, though a rougher edge to them is clearly seen, they are certainly not the growls and screams that would accompany a Gothenburg Style band. Instead, Power Metal riffs melt easily with a Melodic Death flavor of riffing, to create an interesting style. If you want a clear example of the mix of Power and Gothenburg styles, you should listen to "Evolution of the Mind", it certainly is the song with the most obvious fusion of the two genres.

Vocally speaking, they remind me a LOT of the vocals of Nocturnal Rites, though that might be expected, they DO come from the same town, and no doubt have been influenced by a similar scene and similar local acts. However, like I said, there is a rougher edge to them, and no, I'm not even talking about the occasional screams, the "normal" vocals seem to have a sharper edge to them, but still very much in the vein of Nocturnal Rites.

Not to worry however, the riffing and guitar work is no doubt completely original, like I said, they sound like a blend of Nocturnal Rites and Gamma Ray, but also incorporate Gothenburg style melodies in their songs. This certainly provides a very interesting twist, and reminds me of the originality that used to be present in power metal. This particular way of fusing the two genres I am pretty sure has never happened before, and so I can respect them immensely for that. Originality is good.

Finally, let's get to the negatives. First of all, this album is extremely synth heavy. No, nothing like Children of Bodom, Assailant uses very much a synthesizer, not as much as a keyboard. It is primarily used to underline certain melodic or vocal passages, and for the most part is well done. But honestly, I can say that it got a bit annoying after awhile. The guitar work, though original, didn't keep me interested 100% of the time. While very well done, it did have some parts in several songs ("Instincts" for example) that simply were boring and repetitive. There were some minor tone problems as far as the vocals went now and then, but that wasn't really too much of a problem.

Basically, this album has reminded me why I used to listen to so much Power Metal. It has a certainly power metal core, while adding on some very obvious Gothenburg influences, and wrapping it up with a (mostly) nice synthesizer. This was an enjoyable listen all the way through, and I recommend it to any power metal fan, as well as to anyone looking for a good listen.

Patrick Burent

rating 8/10

source:
http://www.soundofmetal.se/index.php?pa ... reamreview