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Once upon a time, it was acceptable to be a singer in metal.
Bruce Dickinson and a little band called Iron Maiden have
done fairly well for themselves. How about Judas Priest? Rob
Halford isn’t the “Metal God” for nothing.
Even in Metallica’s early days—the only days many
so-called Metallica fans will accept—James Hetfield
at least tried to sing.
So why in 2010 is a metal band that opts for melody and “clean
vocals” that a listener can understand and sing along
to rather than the incomprehensible, guttural, vocal-chord-annihilating
growling and shrieking immediately dismissed by a large portion
of the metal community? Would a young Maiden, Priest or Metallica
induce a similar reaction today?
Let’s look at Mutiny Within (not that I am comparing
them to those legends) as a test case. In a completely unscientific
survey of online reviews of their self-titled debut, I found
roughly half reject the band outright, not taking into account
the quality of the singing, but simply because singing is
the primary vocal approach, as if the only reason to have
melody in a song is to shamelessly seek radio play. The remaining
reviews range from positive to positively giddy with excitement
and enthusiasm. I fall into the latter category.
Chris Clancy, who relocated from England to New Jersey to
join Mutiny Within, is a powerful, dynamic new voice in metal.
He doesn’t use all clean singing all the time, but it
is his forte and it includes his mid-range comfort zone and
an occasional high-pitched wail. He also has in his arsenal
a hardcore-style growl and a heavier singing style that incorporates
some of the growl to create a harder edge. He does each exceptionally
well and varies his attack enough to keep listeners on their
toes. A star is born.
Musically, the band is a monster. You can use American bands
Trivium, Killswitch Engage and All That Remains as a starting
point, but then take into account Mutiny Within’s origin
as a Children of Bodom cover band. Thus, the European death
and power metal influences in the guitar wizardry of Brandon
Jacobs and Dan Bage and Andrew Stavola’s keyboards.
So they’re a lot like those American bands but with
more technically proficient playing. And keyboards. And better
singing.
Though there is not a single weak song in this batch of 11
tunes, highlights include “Awake,” “Lethean”
and “Suffocate.”
Did I mention how good this album is? If someone writes or
tries to tell you Mutiny Within is metalcore, don’t
buy it. The bar has been set for metal in 2010.
®2010 Live-Metal.net
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