From a technical point of view, a number of things are to be underlined. First, the record was recorded entirely by the band apart fro the drums and bass, with no influence from the outside. The result is more spontaneous, and more personal. Second, from a technical point of view, the musicians are evidently very comfortable, and the guitar soli are very precise, clean, and crisp, and contribute to give Norther their own touch. I’d wholeheartedly compare those soli to those of Amott of Carcass on ‘Heartwork’ and following albums, because of their speedy execution, their melodic elements and general feeling.
Unlike the promising ‘Jester Race’ by In Flames who proved to be an excellent album followed by nothing but carbon copies, it seems that Norther is refreshing the genre to an extent. In short, I’d like to add that Norther aren’t appreciated in the south of Europe to the extend they deserve. I’ll recommend catchy instantly pleasing songs like ‘Evil Ladies’, ‘Fuck you’ or ‘Scream’. To fully appreciate the originality of the band you need to bear in mind that the artists in the band are also from very wide horizons, since Petri Lindroos also sings for folk metal band Ensiferum, Jukka Koskinen plays bass in no less folk metal band Wintersun, and newly incorporated drummer Heikki Saari comes from the band Virtuocity.
And finally, I can only hope to see Norther hit the stage here some time soon, so that we can see them practice their art in the flesh. Altogether, Norther have proven that a Finnish band can produce delightful Swedish death metal!