Originally released in 2005, Metal Mind Productions has reached into metal history once again and brought you one of the great albums that chances are you don't have in your collection. With a limited run of 2000 disc, this is one that any serious headbanger should be ordering at the end of this review.
I guess you could call this disc, Flotsam's Black Album. A conceptual piece that revolves around the nightmares of lead singer Eric A.K., the dark subject matter and terrific metal thrashing you receive, makes this one that will keep you playing it till you have taken in all the creepy recesses of Eric's dreams.
The straight ahead metal of "Straight To Hell" and "Parasychic, Paranoid" pummel you with some of the bands most demonic metal moments as the kick off of this disc. From there they take you on a roller coaster ride of eerie mayhem that you might think came from the minds of Alice Cooper and Rob Zombie combined. With a musical approach that is almost as unnerving as the tales told, this is a disc that I have found to be the audio equivalent of a Halloween, Friday the 13th marathon.
At times Flotsam underplays the music so that the overall effect is much more dramatic. The melodic moments in both "Childhood Hero" and "Bathing In Red" lull you in until the terror of the night is unleashed upon the unsuspecting listener. By far this is the most musically dynamic the band has ever been. Stretching into some terrific musical territory with guitarists Mark Simpson and Edward Carlson leading the way, they strike a balance between the all out assault of previous works and a more well rounded sound that fits the vision Eric was trying to find on here.
One of the most telling works is the instrumental piece "Nascentes Morimar". It is the essence of a dream/nightmare put to music and not something to listen to in the dark! The shadows seem to move and you will swear something is creeping around the house as this devilishly cool tune is playing.
About the only complaint I can come up with on this one is the overkill on the last song "Out Of Mind". This one could have been about five minutes long and would have made this at least another 1/2 star on the review but instead they drag it out to about eleven minutes by doing a moody acoustic rework of the song "Bathing In Red" complete with sound and voice effects that will have you thumping the skip button after the novelty wears off.
All in all, this is a very cool album and one that I am glad to have found once more. All you metalheads, do yourself a favor and pick this one up!
Track listing:
1. Requiescal
2. Straight To Hell
3. Parasychic, Paranoid
4. Bleed
5. Look In His Eyes
6. Childhood Hero
7. Bathing In Red
8. Nascentes Morimar
9. Out Of Mind
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