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Killswitch Engage Reviews
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Become Death Reviews
Each time a Symphorce record is released, much hype accompanies it. While Metal Blade is comfortable in annually christening the power metal outfit as the cream of the crop, none of their previous works have made any type of substantial impact with devotees of power metal. This is somewhat curious, as the line-up, led by Brainstorm vocalist Andy B. Franck is a fairly solid one. Symphorce albums have always had fair production, capable songcrafting and assertive musicianship, but sadly, "Become Death" is simply another lackluster affair.
Seemingly unable to step outside of the box, the group continues along their path of paint-by-numbers power metal, garnering inspiration from predictable sources and fashioning music that results in a tepidly uninspiring listen overall. This is not to say the band hasn't tried anything new. Incorporation of keyboards, modern-sounding rhythms generally associated with more commercial forms of metal and an overall delivery that's a bit more compact than on last year's "Godspeed." Franck makes a fair attempt at expanding his vocal pallette, but even this does not save tracks like "No Final Words To Say" and "Inside THe Cast" from moribund averageness.
There are flashes of brilliance in tracks like "Darkness Fills The Sky" and "Ancient Prophecies," here you'll find decent riffing and some highly improved vocals on behalf of Franck. WHen you experience moments such as these, you have to wonder what in the hell the band was thinking in throwing a supreme clunker like "Condemned." If the group focused more on creating the massive-sounding, epic affairs like "Darkness Fills The Sky," a track Symphorce appaently spent a great deal of time on, this album could be a true winner.
Ultimately, much of the record seems rushed and the band simply goes through the motions too much of the time. Investing further energies into making a really great record as opposed to a couple of killer tracks framed by thrown-together fluff and Symphorce would be able to deliver the type of record that everyone has been expecting from them for a long while.
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