Company: Century Media Release: 2015 Genre: Progressive Death/Doom Reviewer: Greg Watson
Flows incredibly well
Progressive Death/Doom outfit Barren Earth have put out a really solid album with 'On Lonely Towers'. This is a conceptual record that tells the story of a hunter wounded by predators and a young girl who runs away from home, discovers the wounded hunter, and promises to do all she can to help him heal. The vocals are a great mix of clean and death with the cleans having a Vintersorg feel to them, while the death vocals are solid growls and grunts. Musically the album is incredibly diverse and mixed. You have songs with sterile, almost jazzy guitar tones that give way to aggressive chunky riffs. The solos are a great mix of traditional face melters with some more progressive technical solos thrown in for good measure. The addition of piano on a few cuts really gives the album some emotion and softness when appropriate. Most of the tracks average about seven minutes plus but you don't really find yourself watching the clock as it flows incredibly well. I'm definitely excited to see what the future holds for Barren Earth.
