WITH PASSION ‘In The Midst Of Bloodied Soil’
Earache/Elitist(2005)
One thing that the American bands are really good at, as far as Rock and Metal music is concerned, is at blending all the influences that they 'borrow' from their European 'colleagues' and make them part of their own music. Take, for instance, that whole generation of Metal bands like Fates Warning, Queensryche and Savatage, which first appeared on the American continent in the mid 80’s. Even though their original intention was to create songs based on the same standards that giants like Iron Maiden and Judas Priest set a decade ago, they have all managed to take their music one (if not a dozen) steps further and create a whole new genre within the limits of Heavy Metal.
Things have not changed that much since then. A whole new generation of bands from the west part of the Atlantic are still using the exact same formula, with the only difference that they are now looking to get guidance and inspiration from the Scandinavian music scene. Such an example is the Sacramento-based outfit With Passion. The band was formed in 2002, and with their second EP 'In The Midst of Bloodied Soil', which is now re-issued by Earache/Elitist records, they present us with eight compositions - products of the mixture of Swedish Melodic Death Metal (At The Gates, The Haunted, Dissection) with US Techno-Thrash/Hardcore music.
The main difference between this band and 'similar' US outfits like Shadows Fall, is in the actual structure of their compositions. Even though both bands create songs by using similar melodic guitar riffs, With Passion are more technically orientated. This, of course, results in making their music less appealing to people that are not willing to commit themselves to what they are listening to. Take, for instance, the first song of the album 'Train Wreck Orchestra', which is their label’s choice as representative of the album. I was really shocked by the complex parts that the rhythm section of the band has created in the first few minutes of this song, and the excellent way in which they have managed to mix them with the main guitar theme which is more melodic and far more straight forward.
After listening to the rest of the compositions of the album, I decided that the two instruments whose contribution raised my level of excitement for 'In the Midst of Bloodied Soil' are the bass and the drums. It is true, though, that a thirty minute exposure to this specific style of music can be a very painful experience for the untrained ears, so the band has quite cleverly decided to place two keyboard-based compositions ('The Scorpions Dance' & 'The Prophecies of Hellfire') in 'strategic' places within the album, in order to avoid any such effect.
It is not every day that you get introduced to a band like Within Passion, and 'In The Midst of Bloodied Soil' is indeed not the most easy-listening album that I have ever listened to. On the other hand, I believe that they have made a very good effort with creating something different and interesting, which may not be so obvious right now, but will definitely reward them in the near future. I have the feeling that their next, and hopefully first full-length release, will make many ears turn in their direction.
***½
Review by John Stefanis
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