BLIND STARE — The Dividing Line (review)

BLIND STARE — The Dividing Line album cover Album · 2012 · Melodic Death Metal Buy this album from MMA partners
4/5 ·
dtguitarfan
Blind Stare began in 1999 as an instrumental metal band, started by Anders Öström (current guitarist), Heikki Raisio, and Henry Valkonen, and joined soon after by Tuomas Kant on bass. In 2001, this lineup was fleshed out by Eino Tuominen on vocals. The band went through some changeups since their beginning, and Henry, Heikki, and Tuomas have left the band, with Jaako Lehtinen (Lead Guitars/lead clean vocals), Timo Palokankare (drums), Tuomas Riihimaki (Keyboards) and Ossi Elonen (Bass Guitar) completing the current lineup.

The Dividing Line is the second release by this group, and shows some impressive musicianship by the band. The band describes themselves on their website as "Melodic/Symphonic/Death Metal", which is a pretty good fit for their style, however one could also add, based on various tracks, the Progressive and Power Metal tags to this as well. Now, just the mere mention of the combination of the terms "Melodic" and "Death" has probably got some readers thinking "these are not the droids I am looking for." However, before you stop reading, you should take into account that I myself am not normally a Melodic Death Metal type of guy – I like my growly death vocals to be used sparingly, mixed in with more vocals of other styles. So it is a testament to this band's worth that a person like me would find their album very enjoyable despite my predisposition against their vocal style. The main reason I don't find myself turned away by the vocals would be the instrumentals – this band builds a lush, rich atmosphere behind the vocals, and fills this in with skillful riffs. I would say that the fact that the group started as an instrumental band shows in the way the tracks are composed: the band does a great job of building up a nice groove off of a good riff, but then they don't ever stay in that groove for too long, but move on before the listener gets bored. And there is plenty of ear candy in the way of speedy riffs as well as softer sections that transition into the heavy and aggressive side. So I would definitely say that this group is not your typical Melodic Death Metal group, but has created a unique blend of styles, creating a signature sound all their own.

Originally written for www.seaoftranquility.org
Share this review
more

Review Comments

Post a public comment below | Send private message to the reviewer
Please login to post a shout
adg211288 wrote:
more than 2 years ago
Sounds like I might like this one.

Review Index

Member Zone

Username:
Password:
Stay signed in

Metal Subgenres

Artists Alpha-index

MMA TOP 5 Metal ALBUMS

Rating by members, ranked by custom algorithm
Albums with 30 ratings and more
Master of Puppets Thrash Metal
METALLICA
Buy this album from our partners
Paranoid Heavy Metal
BLACK SABBATH
Buy this album from our partners
Moving Pictures Hard Rock
RUSH
Buy this album from our partners
Powerslave NWoBHM
IRON MAIDEN
Buy this album from our partners
Rising Heavy Metal
RAINBOW
Buy this album from our partners

New Metal Artists

New Metal Releases

Crimes Against Humanity Thrash Metal
UNHARVESTED THRASH
Buy this album from MMA partners
Traumatica Metalcore
NO GUERRA
Buy this album from MMA partners
Within the Visceria Death Metal
NECKBREAKKER
Buy this album from MMA partners
EP 1 Sludge Metal
CHAOTIC AGGRESSION
Buy this album from MMA partners
Songs of Blood and Mire Black Metal
SPECTRAL WOUND
Buy this album from MMA partners
More new releases

New Metal Online Videos

Origin Of Infinity - Chronosphere (OFFICIAL LYRIC VIDEO)
ORIGIN OF INFINITY
Bosh66· 1 day ago
Kingdom of Heaven - “Pleasures of Pain”
KINGDOM OF HEAVEN
Bosh66· 1 day ago
DAWN OF REVENGE - Sanctuary [official music video]
DAWN OF REVENGE
Bosh66· 18 days ago
DAWN OF REVENGE - Farewell [official music video]
DAWN OF REVENGE
Bosh66· 18 days ago
DAWN OF REVENGE - Curtain of Death - [official music video]
DAWN OF REVENGE
Bosh66· 18 days ago
More videos

New MMA Metal Forum Topics

More in the forums

New Site interactions

More...

Latest Metal News

members-submitted

More in the forums

Social Media

Follow us
Follow us on Twitter Become a Facebook fan RSS Feed