Arise are another band from Sweden signed to Spinefarm. Their new album sounds like a mixture of old Soilwork and Sepultura. While an interesting combination, the album doesn’t really have anything special to it that stands out. While the production and playing are all good, it seems that something is missing. Nothing seems to differentiate between the songs. They have made an album very similar to the latest effort by Carnal Forge but unlike that album, this one lacks catchy choruses, interesting breakdowns and interesting riffs.

“Strangled Love” works well as an opener. There are shades of The Chainheart Machine in this song from the drumming style to the soloing. Maybe some Darkane influence can be detected as well? You’ll have to see for yourself. Soilwork should still play music like this. Easily this is one of the best songs on the album. The breakdown sounds very similar to Reroute to Remain style In Flames. The solos do work well and are super-melodic. I wish the rest of this album could be up to par with this song. One thing that stands out is the drumming. While it is intense, there is not much variation to the patterns and the fills are nothing special. While good drummers may be a dime a dozen today, Daniel Bugno does nothing behind the kit that we would consider extraordinary or of note. “Stains of Blood” illustrates this point clearly. It is a standard song that could have been greatly improved by great drum work. There are several places where killer fills could have been inserted and this alone would have drastically improved the song.

In a weird vein, “Another World to Consume” sounds very nu-metalish at parts and then in the blink of an eye, becomes melodeath again. The drumming hampers this song as well. Interestingly, the bridge in this song is comparable musically to the bridge in the song “St. Anger.” The difference being that this sounds good. Maybe Metallica could listen to Arise to see how this song is supposed to be played. The title track again reminds me of Reroute to Remain. This song has much less melody and is quite disappointing. The repetitive main riff does nothing for the listener and the dirth of melody is quite disconcerting at times. The bass is also mixed too high in this song and detracts from the overall mix. “Nuclear Ray Infected” is one of my favorite songs. It is fast, aggressive and has anger. It reminds me of “Generation Speedkill” by Soilwork and “System” by In Flames all rolled into one. The riff is simplistic but the speed and aggression push this one forward.

As I mentioned earlier, the songs all sound incredibly similar, often making differentiation hard. I had to constantly make sure I wasn’t listening to the same song. The drumming could have been greatly improved upon. Yet, this isn’t all bad. This album does have some promise and if these guys focus on the songwriting and arranging, their next album could be a masterpiece. It’s a good effort but it falls short of greatness.