THE WARD “Part Of Humanity”

Metal Scrab Records, 2015

Music: Atmospheric Death Metal
Website: https://www.facebook.com/thewardmd
Duration: 42:36 minutes (11 tracks)
Country: Moldova

Moldovan team has existed since 2009, and “Part Of Humanity” is the band’s second full album, which combines masculine strength with feminine delicacy. The epitome of feminine delicacy is Artmiss playing on the keys. In turn, a music reflection of these two features is the combination of strong (and in rule male) Death Metal with delicate sounds of the keyboard.

At the turn of 80/90 and early 90s of the twentieth century, several teams have tried to merge brutal Death Metal with soft tones of keys, like the legendary NOCTURNUS or HYPOCRISY or else EDGE OF SANITY. This way had both his audience and opponents. However, time has shown that the keys skillfully woven may significantly increase the values ​​of the musical repertoire. As we know, the keyboard sounds are suitable among other things, to create or deepen the dark and melancholic atmosphere. And so such is the case of THE WARD…

Death Metal created by the band looks very powerful, devastatingly and brutaly and at the same time is very spatial and atmospheric, filled with darkness and a dose of melancholy. Here comes the interweaving of technical, heavy, quite often biting and dynamic guitar riffs as well as guitar’s squeaks with melodic solos and soft keyboard’s passages, that form climatic background. Also the vocals are bipolar, because on the one hand we hear predatory growling, which definitely dominates in the compositions and totally crushes. And on the other hand, somewhere in a song will be a delicate female vocals, which soothe the senses of listener. At times there are the arrangements in Doom Death Metal style of heavy decelerations and guitar passages.

An additional positive feature of the material are two instrumental songs (like intro and outro) opening and closing the album in a keyboard neoclassical style. Already it rare is to find such treatments among contemporary bands.

Generally, the material is very interesting. I do not know why, but during of the listening I feel as I’m hearing the band from the early 90s of the twentieth century, perhaps it is a matter of sound entirely… The compositions of THE WARD reminded me of a certain defunct Polish underground band from the ’90s – SEMINARIUM…

Tracklist:
1. End of Time
2. Megiddo
3. Towards Extinction
4. Under The Fire Garden
5. Death Monastery
6. The Ultimate Dream
7. In The Depths of Theories
8. Part of Humanity
9. Issued Blood
10. Flakes of Rapture
11. The Beginning of…

Line-up:
Dryth – Guitars
Artmiss – Keyboards
Alan – Guitars
Disembowel – Bass, Vocals
Cyber – Drums

Rate: 8.0/10