ATHORN - review added 10th September 2010
Album Review: Phobia (2010)
For fans of: Heavy Metal... and an influx of power
German metal act Athorn - Carsten Frank on vocals, Stefan Schönebeck and Tobias Liedke on guitars, Thomas Maiwald on bass, and Sören Becker on drums - got together in 2008, all having come from quite different musical backgrounds.
Their self-produced debut EP “Livable Hatred” was released in September 2009. It must have been good as it paved the way for them getting signed to AFM Records.
“Phobia”, the band's debut LP on AFM, was recorded and mixed in Waveland Studios in late spring/early summer 2010. The sound takes cues from straight ahead heavy metal, power metal, a little thrash, and maybe even prog. The result is a mixture of Iced Earth, Brainstorm, Jon Oliva's Pain and more...even including occasional nods to Slipknot.
It's all rather good, but that's about all. There is nothing truly groundbreaking or amazing on Phobia, rather it's a collection of well-conceived, well-performed tracks that'll please most metal fans without truly exciting them. The best moments are the nu-metal-baiting 'Angel Of The Fall', the thumping 'Emperor Of Ruins', and the epic title track. Nothing else really gets close.
I'm disappointed with this debut from Athorn. The talent and performances are there, but the songs (save the three listed above) simply aren't that exciting. Here's to next time.
Check out... The above triplet.
Track List:
01. Angel Of The Fall
02. Emperor Of Ruins
03. Humanize The Demon
04. Phobia - Prologue
05. Phobia
06. After The End
07. A Matter Of Time
08. From Beyond
09. The Ferryman
10. Schizophrenia
Label: AFM Records
Artist's website(s): Athorn | MySpace
