Artist: Rapture
Label: Century Media
Release Date: 2/11/03
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Title: Songs for the Withering Artist: Rapture Label: Century Media Release Date: 2/11/03 |
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Abyss's Review:
Rapture put forth a Goth/Doom/Death vibe that is most easily identifiable with acts like Anathema and Katatonia. Rapture is by no means a clone of these acts, but a similarity is unmistakable. Their sound consists primarily of mid-paced, somber guitars accentuated by droning clean vocals that occasionally devolve into death-like growls. This basic structure is in evidence throughout the disc, with no transitions into different sounds or styles.
"While fans of this band might embrace its consistent melancholy, it strikes me as monotonous."
While fans of this band might embrace its consistent melancholy, it strikes me as monotonous. One would think that during these bleak winter months this music would have found its niche in my psyche, but I find myself enjoying it only a few moments at a time. The music does have a certain quality to it, however. It is well written, well produced, and well executed, it just strikes me as too one-dimensional. Avid fans of this style most likely have a much higher tolerance than I for this type of thing, and perhaps these people would find this album much more of a success than I do.
"One word review: Eh." My favorite track is "Transfixion", which I consider the best-crafted amalgamation of all of the different themes that they've presented on this work, but it isn't much of a standout. Nothing really is. That means you'll either hate this whole album, be indifferent towards this whole album, or think it's great through and through. You're not gonna love part of it and hate parts. That is why I'm thoroughly lukewarm on the record, it isn't that it's all that bad, it's just not all that exciting either. I've heard this stuff done better by both Anathema and Katatonia, so this album seems like a nonessential to me. However, for those of you who couldn't get enough of that sound, you might well want to pick this one up because it is pretty solid. One word review: Eh.
Death's Review:
"Melancholy" is definitely the right word to describe this one, the sophomore release for this Finnish band (the first released three years ago on Relapse Records in the U.S.). The hype says it is for fans of early Katatonia and Amorphis, and I buy that, up to a point. The album definitely is in that vein, and definitely has that same undercurrent of artistic integrity combined with somewhat similar sound. Rapture falls a bit short, however, in the songwriting department. Many of these tracks are too boring, and none really stand out enough for my taste. "Enveloped" is a good example: I like the main repetitive guitar riff and the death metal vocals, but the clean vocals are almost unbearable, not because they are necessarily bad but rather because they are almost completely devoid of any serious charisma. Moreover, the album as a whole, exemplified by "Enveloped" but present throughout, is just so doggedly mid-tempoed it never really packs enough of a punch to break me from its semi-hypnotic trance.
"Rapture falls a bit short in the songwriting department. Many of these tracks are too boring, and none really stand out enough for my taste."
Now this is often a good thing in metal, and the quality of the production and musicianship on display on Songs for the Withering lead me to believe that there is probably something here if I am willing to work for it. But lately I've been getting into a lot of hyper-aggressive, amped up music like Corporation 187, Strapping Young Lad, Dark Tranquillity and The Haunted, and so something that makes me want to sit in the corner and contemplate the long, cold winter (which I'm not experiencing for the first time in my life because I moved to LA last summer) isn't exactly what I'm looking for right now. Let me emphasize that the death vocals really do sound cool and are my favorite part. And the recording is so warm, it really makes me want to find a way to give this one a better score. But at the end of the day, there is so much more out there that I want to spend my time with, pretty much capping me at 3 skulls. So three skulls it is, which is my numeric/iconic way of saying to you: not for me, but not because it is poorly executed or causes any kind of negative reaction. There's a lot worse out there, but, if you ask me, there's also a lot better.
"There's a lot worse out there, but, if you ask me, there's also a lot better."
Hel's Review:
This is the first album that has reached me from Rapture. They certainly have much in common with many of their Nordic neighbors, and this is the only thing that I found truly troubling about this record. You see, sometimes a band sounds awfully familiar, even though you've never heard them before. This is always disconcerting to me, and I found parts of this record sounded awfully familiar. This is not necessarily terrible, because I'm reminded of things I like, but still… I find it disconcerting.
"There's really a bit of everything on this album, and perhaps that is one of the reasons it sometimes sounds so familiar."
"Definitely give this one a try, it has a lot of promise." Otherwise, the album is quite enjoyable. It spans the spectrum, from slow and mellow, to fast and aggressive, from clean vocals to death. There's really a bit of everything on this album, and perhaps that is one of the reasons it sometimes sounds so familiar. All the parts are executed with skill and the songs are put together well, with many of them having catchy parts that will stick with you. Maybe that's why it sometimes sounds so familiar…
This is a great album for people who like both melodic death metal and very mellow atmospheric metal, as these are the two most prominent styles featured on Songs for the Withering. This album is a sonic voyage, with a number of detours along the way. Definitely give this one a try, it has a lot of promise.
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