Maximum Metal Rating Legend

Slumber – Fallout – 2005 – Karmageddon Media

Track Listing 1. Rapture 2. Conflict 3. Where Nothing Was Left 4. Fallout 5. Distress 6. Dreamscape 7. A Wanderer’s Star

I always love it when debut albums are this good. Sometimes it takes a band a few releases to really find their sound. This isn’t the case with Slumber – “Fallout” is a well-developed, mature release. They play a pretty solid form of death-doom metal, in the same vein as Katatonia or Swallow the Sun. In fact, when I first popped this album in, for a second I thought I had put in Swallow the Sun by mistake. I’m not calling them clones or anything, because neither band is very well known, but both pull off this sort of style brilliantly.

The coolest part about Slumber is the fact that they are VERY heavy yet melodic at the same time. The guitars create a crunching, intense sound. The melody can be attributed to the liberal use of keyboards, which often establish atmosphere and create wonderful melodies at the same time. Due to this dual nature, it would be impossible for keyboardist Ehsan Kalantarpour to handle this all on his own live unless he had four arms, so the band recruited Daniel Beckman of Magog (a Swedish black/folk band) to pick up the slack. The results are wonderful, and I can only imagine how brilliant their live performances are.

Another notable aspect of “Fallout” is the bass. Mikael Brunkvist is called upon to play some very difficult and often groovy lines, but he pulls them all off perfectly. Usually with music this heavy, the bass cannot often be heard, but in some songs, like “Conflict,” it’s generally at the front. A little unique touch like this makes a good album a great one. In addition, vocalist Siavosh Bigonah has a very deep and intense voice, akin to Johan Hegg of Amon Amarth or Mikko Kotamaki of Swallow the Sun. All of these elements combined give us seven tracks filled with emotions ranging from grief to excitement. A very fine album indeed; recommended for all death and doom metal fans alike.

-- Veritas 05.22.05