Fallen Divine - The Binding Cycle (2011)

As 2011 winds down and big labels are saving their ‘big’ releases of the opening of 2012, it is very nice to hear fantastic self-released albums like Fallen Divine’s “The Binding Cycle”. Hailing from Norway, this band is ready to conquer the Metal world with crazy-fast guitars, demonic vocals, crafty drumming, and very intricate and skillful compositions. We are very surprised this band has not been picked up by any label yet.

Immediately showing of their skills with “Dissension”, the band quickly delivers waves of powerful riffs, aggressive vocals and a pounding bass guitar line. The drumming keeps all things together in a very tight manner and nicely changes tempos several times during the song. The atmospheric keyboards give this already awesome track a bit more of flair and epicness. The ethereal atmospheric passage is nicely adorned by great guitar work and a pulsating bass guitar section. Pretty much this is the band’s formula for success and they greatly present it in different shapes through this release.

As “Shades of Opression”, “Fire Lights the Nights” and “Patterns Through Eternity” steamrolled through our ears, we get more and more convinced that Fallen Divine is an excellent band that while sounding like so many others, they mesh all these elements together into a very cohesive and characteristic sound. The band excels in creating intricate songs and quickly changing the direction while maintaining a hefty balance of melodic sections and aggressive passages. There are jazz influences like on “Shades of Oppression” that are nicely hidden between the songs complexities and they are truly joyful to experience and find.

The harsh vocals could be said to be the album’s only weak point, but basically because we just want to listen to the excellently crafted music by it-self. But by general standards they are pretty solid and do a god job in transferring aggression through the songs. The melodic sections of “Replenished” make this track our favorite song and when you listen to the last few minutes you will understand why. With a mixture of Tracedawn and Shade Empire, the band closes with “The Binding Cycle”, and will surely have you immediately playing this album again.

Why bands like these not signed and heaps of shitty Deathcore and Metalcore bands have record deals? This is beyond our understanding and will continue to be. But for all of you lucky enough to be out in the hunt for excellent music, “The Binding Cycle” will be one of the most exciting finds you will make this 2011. If you are looking for great songs featuring crafty instrumentation and a killer production, look no further and get Fallen Divine’s album.

Release: November 28th, 2011

Country: Norway