Wakener – Rise to Fall (2015)

Hailing from Finland, today we have Melodic Death Metal batallion Wakener and their debut demo titled “Rise to Fall”. Featuring over 20 minutes of catchy music, the band showcases a very in your face attitude and a knack for crafting engaging tunes. Reminding us of old-school Kalmah, Amorphis, and Satm1na, this new band is ready to deliver killer neck snapping tunes that will keep you waiting more.

Opening with the demo title track, “Rise to Fall”, we are treated to a hectic track filled with solid riffs and a very groovy vibe. Things turn a bit more sinister and even Thrashier with the crushing riffs of “The Artist”, showcasing the band’s versatility and command of their instruments. Reminding us of a mixture of old Sepultura and Kalmah, “Organized Hate” keeps things rolling with a very direct and full of attitude approach.

Clocking in at around 6 minutes, the powerful “Black Waltz” is our favorite track in this release. Starting with a more melancholic edge, this track perfectly blends different aspects of the band’s style and delivers a very effective Melodic Metal experience. Ending on a high note with the moodiness and catchiness of “Light Shine sin the Darkness”, we are left wanting some more.

With a very high bar set for bands coming out of Finland, we are quite pleased with Wakener’s demo release. The band has great ideas and potential, so we hope that their debut release is as good as what they showed on “Rise to Fall”. If you are a fan of Finnish Melodic Metal, this is certainly a band you want to keep an eye out for.

Label: Self-Released

Release: 2015

Genre: Melodic Metal

Country: Finland