Coldbound – The Gale

[schema type=”review” name=”Coldbound – The Gale” description=”Label: Self-released” author=”Basak Günel” pubdate=”2018-06-10″ ]

Coldbound is a band that was formed in Finland in 2012. They have released 3 full-length albums by now, which was mostly about black metal. They now have a new release called “Gale” which has been out and this is the band’s first polished work and also their first melodic death metal album.

Coldbound was a name I heard here and there many years ago and so it surprised me that this project has a new album out. Upon the first spin, my feelings were rather mixed. One hand, I can hear and feel that there were lots of ideas and sparks involved that were transformed into this sound and the concept, which by the way, is heavily influenced by the Nordic death and black metal scene. The album itself is not only about that though; since the concept deals with personal struggles, depression and memories of nostalgia, some doom and atmospheric BM elements will also be felt. This style is not bad but it’s also nothing new and those of you who are familiar with the Nordic metal scene will recognize the familiarity with many bands. So “Gale” does not actually bring anything new or fresh to the scene. Instead, we get to hear the band’s ideas blended with their influences. Whether this is a good or a bad thing is up to the listener of course…

One very weak highlight of the album is the production… It is not an easy thing especially if we are talking about the death metal genre. But to release an album requires more than that and it failed to fulfill my expectations in that technical perspective. The elements are all over the place, the songs sadly fail to spark or evoke those dark emotions  and in “The Eminent Light”, for example, a female vocalist with out of tune vocals are featured, which completely disturbed the overall atmosphere of the song for me. So aspects like these sadly make the album far from successful. Surely, it’s all about the budget but it’s not impossible and we have seen many underground bands who put out some mindblowing work…. So it seems like Coldbound has a long way to go. In this case, my advice would be to get more creative with this sound, work on the production skills and bring something new to the scene while not losing the spark. Who knows? Maybe the next release will be totally different!

Album Line-up:
Pauli Souka – guitars, bass, keyboards, vocals
Paulina Medepona – vocals on #6
Andras Miklosvari – keyboards on #4,5,6,7

Tracklist: 1. 61° 43′ N 17° 2. The Invocation 3. Endurance Through Infinity 4. My Solace 5. The Gale 6. The Eminent Light 7. Winters Unfold 8. Shades of Myself 9. Towards the Weeping Skies

Links:
Coldbound Facebook