Gothenburg in Sweden is a city very well known for its melodic death metal music, it’s an absolute breeding ground for bands of this sort and it should therefore come as no surprise that this is exactly where the band Engel hails from. The band blends brilliantly the genres of melodic death metal and industrial metal also with this, the debut album from Engel that is ‘Absolute Design’. The album consists of twelve tracks and was produced by Anders Fridén (singer of the band In Flames).
Engel is a band which consists of two incredibly talented guitarists; Marcus Sunesson is an ex-member of the band The Crown whilst Niclas Engelin has been in such bands as Gardenian, In Flames, and Passenger also. Their experience shines through throughout this album, always the guitar work is excellent here and this I feel is a defining element and feature of the bands sound. The guitar riffs are incredibly powerful, the band is hugely energetic in its approach, and vocally also the music always has much to offer here. An industrial edge can certainly be felt at all times, particularly in the dirty guitar work that the tracks so often possess; it’s a fine sound and one that is very well put across by the band here.
Engel could be seen as a metal supergroup of sorts, all of the bands members have been involved in various other musical projects over the years and now they are bringing their joint excellence together in this fine five-piece band that is Engel. The drum work is powerful, the bass lines work well in the bands sound, and vocally the Engel sound always is exceptional. Mangan Klavborn is the bands vocalist, a former member of the band Headplate and never here does his vocal style cease to impress. This isn’t the best melodic death metal album ever, it’s pretty good though and the industrial element certainly adds edge and depth to the music.
If you’re after an authentic Gothenburg melodic death metal album then Engel’s ‘Absolute Design’ isn’t a bad album to listen to. This debut release from the band always is excellent; the thirteen tracks present on this album are all brutally heavy and both instrumentally and vocally impressive also. I’d certainly recommend listening to tracks such as ‘Scyth’ and ‘Next Closed Door’ from this album, with these tracks the music of Engel always offers plenty and the sound created by the band is pretty much faultless. There are better metal albums out there than this, ‘Absolute Design’ is however one of the best metal albums to have emerged in 2007 and given that this was only the first album from the band I think it’s safe to say that we can expect a lot more from Engel in the not too distant future.
Label: SPV Records
Release Date: November 5th 2007
Rating:
UK based film graduate with a huge passion for music, sports and video games.
