World Come Down - Skullflower
Ark Noir Records

file under different metal

Wilmar: Between all the releases that were sent my way for thorough analysis I found this little gem called ‘Skullflower’ by the international quartet World Come Down. The band consists of an American (Markus Maximilian Strickler, vocals), two Germans (Gary Kretzer – guitars and Mudz Leichtle – bass) and an Austrian (Beda Bachmayer – drums). World Come down is the kind of band that gives you a certain impression and suddenly puts you on the wrong foot…

The CD kicks off with the pounding ‘The Golem And The Copy Cat’, a song that refers to Slayer from time to time. As well as with the following ‘Haunted’, which gives you the impression to deal with ‘another band influenced by Slayer’. On the other hand: try to find a band in the heavier genres that is not influenced by Slayer… In those two songs World Come Down is heavily based on a Slayer and Machine Head influence and they succeed in making the songs sound catchy. But when we arrive at the third song, they decide to follow another route and multiple influences surface. They can also kick the shit out of a hardcore song and the alternative genre is no stranger to them and with a song like ‘Static’ they show us they can experiment as well.

The album was produced by Achim Lindermeir (who made name with acts like A-Ha) and it sounds clear and well balanced in the mix and HEAVY. The compositions, which vary between really heavy metal and well thought of acoustic parts, sound great thanks to that production. Outstanding on this album is ‘Shadowman’, that starts out a bit basic but whose alternative chorus demands all attention.

Swinging between styles and the necessary experiments cause World Come Down to lack a bit of identity. The band is well on their way, the album kicks ass but it’s hard to decide what it is. That doesn’t mean I dislike ‘Skullflower’, I would really love to see them live one day. And probably that own identity will come on the next album with a more integrated style. The foundations for that is laid, don’t take it for negative criticism. Some of the songs don’t seem to fit in. If we are talking about quality, a lot of bands could take World Come Down as an example.

Rating: 88/100 (details)

http://www.worldcomedown.com