How much can expectations influence your opinion about a freshly released (or still upcoming, doesn’t matter) album? And how much will an accurate listening balance your first impressions?
Hearing something new from a band you’ve known for years will most likely be spoilt by several kinds of prejudice. But then, what’s not? I’ve also recently heard of someone who had never heard of Redemption before, and was going to start right from Snowfall on Judgement Day. To cut it short (read forth for details): very good choice for a start. Tthose of you who are familiar with this American super-combo (featuring no less than Fates Warning‘s Ray Alder on vocals, and the mainstreamingly speaking underrated Bernie Versailles on guitars) will probably spot echoes of Origins of Ruin here, and we can fairly enough assume the previous album was in fact the starting point to bring it all some further.
I’ve read claims of a “more mature” songwriting on this album, which is always the case with bands that have been around without significant changes for a while. If “mature” means a renewed, even more confident way of blending the band members’ thrashy and progressive roots, then this is definitely the case. One thing that’ll struck you from the beginning (see the awesome triplet Peel, Walls and Leviathan Rising) is the apparent will to let the thrashy element emerge and kind of drench the songs. Later on, Fistful of Sand makes a statement in the same direction.
So aggressiveness is certainly present, and even to a further extent than before; which is not to say the melody’s been left aside. Actually, songs like Walls (and even the other aforementioned “stronger” pieces) offer a nice peek on some of alder’s best melodic efforts. Let me also mention James LaBrie‘s guest appearance on Another Day (!) Dies, which fits stunnigly well.
Once again, the thrashy “armour” kind of shields the progressive soul of Redemption‘s sound — and that is nothing new. What has come to an upper level, is the degree to which said blending takes place. Keyboards fill up every possible “gap” left by the other instruments, so the overall sound never thins. As usual, Alder‘s voice finds appropriate space within the songs’ structure, and the instrumental part is never a let down. What also made an impression on a “layman” like me, was the drum work. Simply flawless.
THUS SPAKE THE CENNSOR: Snowfall on Judgment Day has certainly lots of “energetic potential”. That is to say it is the right choice if you’re up for some modern sounding metal, with the (kind of) low tuning which seems to be so in nowadays, a straight yet complex combination of thrash and, let us say it but only for the sake of comparison, Dream Theater-ian prog.
To be honest, the album might take several listenings before winning a fixed spot in your playlists (because of “easier”, catchier songs alternating with more “difficult” ones), but it most certainly deserves a shot. High quality, skilled musicianship always does. Plus, you don’t get to hear such a good thrashy prog metal output all that often. So chances are that spot will be eventually won. 7,5/10
