Maximum Metal Rating Legend

Plastic Earth - S.E.A.M-01 - 2005 - World Chaos Production

Track Listing1. Silent Field 2. Thousand Me 3. S.E.A.M-01 4. Remember Pain 5. Sleep 6. Standing On Sky 7. Nothing Not 8. Just You Want Be The Moon

It really has hit home just how far this Gothenburg melodic death metal scene has reached. Last year I wrote an article for our Tales From The Jugular series about the genre and it's various roots. At one point the scene was limited to just Sweden. Now it has reached the US, Canada, Norway, Finland, Germany, and now Japan of all places. The land of the rising sun has found a front runner for their particular place holder on the melodic death metal chart. Plastic Earth has emerged from the pack to deliver a mammoth good time with "S.E.A.M.-01", a Soilwork inspired album that seems to have all of the main ingredients needed to compete in this cut throat industry we call heavy metal.

Plastic Earth started in the late 90s with members f'rom Bindweed. In 2002 the band changed their name officially to Plastic Earth and signed a contract with World Chaos Production, who have recently claimed some fame with the Jap thrashers Fastkill. "S.E.A.M.-01" is really a brilliant record if you only look at entertainment value. Of course it isn't the most original album in the world, with the record at times recalling Soilwork a little too much. All of the traditional elements are here, the building melody, the aggressive screams, and the blinding pace. Does Plastic Earth really do anything different? No, but they are damn entertaining nonetheless, which is really what it all comes down to in the end. Can this band entertain? I think they can.

With one listen to vocalist Sado you will immediately notice the comparison to Soilwork's Speed. The man has all of the same trademarks, carrying that deathy tone to his vocals in much the same way as Mr. Speed. Musically Plastic Earth could be situated between Soilwork and Dark Tranquility. The band never just come off as a complete rip-off, unlike Throne Of Chaos and their obvious influence in Children Of Bodom. No, this is a really good effort to just do the same style, but of course try to make it their own. This album has some really solid cuts, including the storming opener "Silent Field" that kicks off like an Amorphis album, with either a real moog or simply a keyboard effect leading into some fast downtuned groove riffing. With the chorus part some clean vocals slip in, really helping to seperate the aggression and melody. "Thousand Me" moves as a rather moody piece, really falling onto a trance like keyboard sound to build mood and character. The band rocks in with some 80s styled riffs that seem to be very basic in nature, but it just really works well here. Sometimes it is all about the little basic things that really help associate the album with the listener. More clean vocals appear throughout this cut. The title track is just bombastic, showing off some good lead work from Yuki. Oddly enough the fastest number on the album is called "Sleep", a quick racer that fits more of a Dark Tranquility style. Of note is the band's use of a drum machine, which isn't terribly noticable.

A solid effort and something completely different than the usual Loudness/Anthem worship coming out of Japan.


--EC 04.30.05