MEMFIS — Vertigo (review)

MEMFIS — Vertigo album cover Album · 2011 · Progressive Metal Buy this album from MMA partners
3.5/5 ·
UMUR
"Vertigo" is the second full-length studio album by Swedish metal act Memfis. The album was independently released in October 2011. It´s the successor to "The Wind-Up" from 2006. There have been two lineup changes since the predecessor as guitarist/vocalist Johan Boqvist has been replaced by Daniel Götstedt and bassist Christian Öhberg has been replaced by Henrik Hedelund. "Vertigo" was actually recorded in 2008, but as a consequence of a longer legal battle with Memfis former label, they weren´t able to release "Vertigo" until 2011. At that point they were done with record labels, and therefore opted to self-release "Vertigo".

Just as the case was on "The Wind-Up", Memfis play a pretty eclectic type of hardcore/metal on "Vertigo". Post-hardcore, metalcore, technical death/sludge (not completely unlike listening to early Mastodon), and progressive metal songwriting coplexity are some of the ingredients of the band´s sound. Contemporary Swedish act Burst is the most valid reference to my ears, but Memfis as described take influences from a lot of different sources. The vocals are predominantly aggressive hardcore shouting/screaming, but the album also features clean vocal sections. The musicianship is on a high level on all posts and it´s audible that Memfis is a well playing and skilled unit.

The diversity of the output and the intriguing songwriting, which make the music a bit difficult to properly describe, are great assets of "Vertigo" and keep the listener on his/her toes for the duration of the album. The unpredictability within otherwise relatively regular length songs is not the least bit confusing though, as Memfis seamlessly weave all the elements together into a cohesive musical style. Featuring a professional, powerful, and detailed sound production that part of the album is also an asset. A 3.5 star (70%) rating is deserved.
Share this review
more

Review Comments

Post a public comment below | Send private message to the reviewer
Please login to post a shout
No shouts posted yet. Be the first member to do so above!

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

Burden Metalcore
VEMØD
Buy this album from MMA partners
Sonic Sewer Sludge Metal
DIRT PILE
Buy this album from MMA partners
Kiritsis Sludge Metal
KIRITSIS
Buy this album from MMA partners
Beyond Obsidian Euphoria Technical Death Metal
TÓMARÚM
Buy this album from MMA partners
A Dor É O Combustível Da Mudança Sludge Metal
KUARUP
Buy this album from MMA partners
More new releases

New Metal Online Videos

TÓMARÚM - SHED THIS ERRONEOUS SKIN (OFFICIAL LYRIC VIDEO)
TÓMARÚM
adg211288· 2 hours ago
Killswitch Engage - Collusion
KILLSWITCH ENGAGE
Bosh66· 12 hours ago
Killswitch Engage - I Believe
KILLSWITCH ENGAGE
Bosh66· 12 hours ago
Killswitch Engage - Forever Aligned (Official Video)
KILLSWITCH ENGAGE
Bosh66· 12 hours ago
Killswitch Engage - Us Against The World (OFFICIAL VIDEO)
KILLSWITCH ENGAGE
Bosh66· 12 hours 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
Become a Facebook fan RSS Feed