Line Up:
Matt Marinelli - Vocals, Guitars
Michael Briguglio - Guitars
Jamie Smith - Bass
Sean Werlick - Keyboards
Sean Dowell - Drums
▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬ஜ۩۞۩ஜ▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬ Fall From Grace is
Borealis’ second release, but it is their first album to be released by
Lion Music. This record has been a few years in the making and the efforts of the band really show. If you are familiar with the debut, you’ll notice that this album is more progressive, and the lyrical themes tend to focus more on reality. Regardless,
Fall From Grace is a masterful work and one of the best albums of the year.
The album kicks off with
“Finest Hour”, which is an appropriate title as this is one of the band’s greatest songs. It contains the thrashiest riffing in
Borealis’ catalogue and even features some harsh vocals (courtesy of
Crimson Shadows vocalist
Jimi Maltais). Even more uncharacteristically, this song ends with a long instrumental passage accompanied by a spoken backing track. This song sets the tone for the album as it displays the major improvement made by vocalist and guitarist
Matt Marinelli. His effort on the debut was fantastic, but he has stepped it up for this album. This is no more noticeable than on
“Watch the World Collapse”, where
Marinelli is largely on his own. Aside from the improvement in the vocals, the rest of the band does a great job in displaying their talents. The keyboards on this album, played by
Sean Werlick, fit in better than on any other album I’ve heard. Although they rarely come to the forefront of the music, their presence adds to the atmosphere of the music.
Werlick sometimes opts to switch to a clean piano sound, such as at the midpoint of
“Forgotten Forever”, providing a nice change in pace. Moreover, the drumming on this album is also exceptional. The double bass work on this album stands out over everything else simply because it is so powerful. While the excellent production aids the drum sounds,
Sean Dowell is an absolute master of the drums. His talents were displayed better on the first album (particularly at the end of the track
“The Afterlife”), but he still provides excellent work here. There are a few tracks where he completely changes the feel of the chorus by going for a restrained, spacious effect (as opposed to constant double bass).
Musically, this album deserves the title of progressive. While there are defined choruses, the structure is far looser than previous
Borealis songs. It definitely feels as if the band put more time into these songs and really worked to make them catchier.
“Where We Started” is a prime example as it is simply one of the most memorable songs I have heard in all of metal. Somehow, the band even manages to incorporate a breakdown into the song without it sounding terrible. The idea of progressive power metal and breakdowns shouldn’t work, but
Borealis has always done this well because of the use of keyboard arrangements over top. Another unique feature of the band is its ability to instantly change the feel of the song. Many power metal bands work at a fast pace, or, in the case of a ballad, a slow one.
Borealis often manage to change the intensity of their songs several times. The aforementioned
“Finest Hour”, and
“Forgotten Forever”, along with
“Breaking the Curse”, all have moments that will induce head-banging, moments that will force you to sing along, and moments that leave you in awe of the band’s talents. Ironically, the title track is the weakest song on the album. While it has moments of brilliance, it lacks the concentration of the other songs.
This album is certainly a grower, so don’t disregard it if you don’t enjoy it on first listen. On the other hand, if tracks like
“Where We Started” and
“Regeneration” don’t immediately draw you in,
Borealis might not be for you.
Fall From Grace is a progression, but elements of the band’s previous sound do remain. I can’t give many valid comparisons, because I don’t delve too far into progressive metal, but any fan of power metal should enjoy this album and will love
World of Silence, the band’s debut. Ultimately,
Borealis created a great album. I have no doubt that the band will be picked up on a huge tour once this album reaches a huge audience. If you are a fan of anything melodic and heavy, check out
Fall From Grace.
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Tracklist:1. Finest Hour
2. Words I Failed To Say
3. Fall From Grace
4. Where We Started
5. Breaking The Curse
6. Regeneration
7. Watch The World Collapse
8. Take You Over
9. Forgotten Forever
Release Date: May 20th, 2011
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