Twilightning - Swinelords 2.5/5
Reviewed: 3-13-07
Tracklist:
1. Isolation shell
2. Swinelord
3. Reflection of the cuckoo
4. Vice Jesus
5. Pimps, witches, theives & bitches
6. The gun
7. Not a word
8. Consume gap
9. With the flow
10. Wounded & withdrawn
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Now here is a metal band (and I now use the word metal loosely) that has been the topic of many metal forums as of late. The main questions being asked would be their change of music style and has this change worked for them. There has also been some curiosity on how their new CD entitled ‘Swinelords’ would sound.
Twilightning started off with a bang back in 2003 with their debut CD, ‘Delirium veil’. This CD was one of the better debuts I’ve heard in a long time and the future seemed very bright for this young power metal band. Then we started to notice a change in their sound with their 2nd release, ‘Plague-house puppet show’. The band’s sound was leaning towards an 80s rock/metal sound more so than the power metal sound which they began with. Although the CD had a few great tracks, it was just not as good as ‘Delirium veil’.
So 3 years have passed since ‘Plague-house puppet show’. The question on people’s lips would be what will the new CD sound like? Another mix of power metal and 80s rock like their 2nd CD, or back to their debut release sound? Well, the answer is neither, as the term power metal has completely disappeared from Twilightning’s sound.
‘Swinelords’ is completely 80s hard rock/heavy metal. Now, I am a fan of 80s heavy metal. The songs of that genre are quite catchy and enjoyable, but after spinning ‘Swinelords’ a few times I just felt disappointed. Mainly because I preferred Twilightning’s ‘Delirium veil’ sound. I liked the melodic power metal mixed with a touch of 80s metal and I didn’t mind the 80s feel being used more in their 2nd CD. But this is just not what I was hoping for.
Vocalist Heikki Poyhia has a great voice and was one of the things that drew me to this band in the first place. But on ‘Swinelords’, I got very frustrated with his delivery. In most parts he is quite melodic and emotional, but in others it was almost just the opposite, and I couldn’t get into some of the songs as much as I wanted to. Musically, there are quite a few different elements thrown into each track. Some straight up hard rock/metal, while others have a southern rock and even a blues feel to them. Each track does have some catchy and melodic parts, particularly during the chorus, and a few memorable riffs throughout, but overall I feel that the CD is still disappointing and lacking that originality we heard from ‘Delirium veil’.
Unfortunately, some of the songs can be rather misleading, where you hear a rockin’ and catchy opening riff and you hope that the tracks seems promising. But then the main part of the track kicks in and it’s completely different from the opening, a let down so to speak. ‘Swinelords’ does have some good moments and decent songs, but they are so far and few between. If I had to pick some of the better tracks from the CD, they would include “Swinelord”, “With the flow”, “Vice Jesus”, “The gun” and “Consume gap”. I wouldn’t call any of those mentioned tracks “killers”, but they just had more catchy parts, better riffs and sung well by Heikki Poyhia.
So, for me, I am disappointed. Yes there are parts that I enjoyed, but just not very many. That’s not to say ‘Swinelords’ is a terrible CD. It would totally appeal to fans of 80s heavy metal and only 80s heavy metal. Fans of power metal and those like me who enjoyed ‘Delirium veil’ may take a few parts here and there from the CD, but that’s all. I’ll leave you all to make up your own minds about this release, but in my humble opinion, I feel Twilightning are moving in the wrong direction and fans could easily lose interest after hearing this CD. And the ones who were sitting on the fence after ‘Plague-house puppet show’ may as well just jump off after ‘Swinelords’.
SEAN
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