Band:	Fall Of Serenity
Album:	Bloodred Salvation
Style:	Death metal, Gothenburg metal
Release date:	May 2006

01. Blood Starts Running (Intro)
02. Out Of The Clouds
03. A Piece Of You
04. Dead Eyes
05. Bloodred Salvation [Instrumental]
06. Raise Your Remorse
07. As I Watch
08. Overflowing Senses
09. Swallowed Lies
10. Twin Curse

Fall Of Serenity, German band, started in 1998 and recorded a split LP with countrymates metalcore stalwarts Heaven Shall Burn, Bloodred Salvation is their fourth album, they toured with such major acts as Vader, Dismember, Marduk, Kataklysm, Behemoth and so on, signed to Lifeforce Records in 2005. Sounds very promising. Ok, what about the music?


Basically, Fall Of Serenity is the quintessential Gothenburg death metal band, except that they are German. Other than this minor detail, they sound very much like every other Sweden-influenced band of this genre. A few differences appear here and there, like the fact that they belong to the more brutal fringes of this most appreciated subgenre (stuff like Callenish Circle, you know?). So what you find here is quite classical, i.e. nice guitar work, great hooks, good groovy parts and pace changes, angry vocals, cool solos and catchy choruses. It is not exactly original but their music has a strong hardcore vibe that makes it quite punchy and direct. It seems to be a feature of those melodeath German bands, like they've all been influenced by Heaven Shall Burn.


To be honest, the first half of the album didn't leave a lasting impression on me. It was not disagreeable, the excellent guitar work kept me awake all along (this band is a riff machine, honestly) and even sometimes stirred a little headbanging. The opener Out Of The Clouds is particularly well constructed. Though I cannot say it was really different from the dozens of albums of this genre that you can hear every year.


My spirits rocketed after the piano instrumental Bloodred Salvation. All of a sudden, the band really stuck together and started playing brilliant songs. Especially As I Watch is an outstanding song, one of the best and catchiest I have heard in the genre for a long time. It is teeming with groove and amazing death metal riffs (there must be a good dozen of them), the drumming is particularly insane and the vocal lines are of the type that stick in your head for a very long time. This song reminded me a lot of early At The Gates. Overflowing Senses also stands out with its "stadium chorus" and stunning melodies, and so does the thrasher Raise Your Remorse, which sees a special appearance by Leif Jensen, vocalist of Dew-Scented.


There really are two albums in one. The first half is okay-ish but not too amazing. The kind of music you like when you hear it but almost instantly forget. On the other hand, the last five songs really make up for it. Fall Of Serenity became amazing for 25 minutes. Too bad they didn't stand the distance. I can only wish that their next effort will follow the line of As I Watch.


Highlights:
AS I WATCH, Overflowing Senses, Out Of The Clouds, Raise Your Remorse