March 5, 2010

Reviewer: Peter

The country of Sweden can be considered a melting pot when it comes to the numerous styles of metal music that its bands play.  Whether it is Gothic doom (Draconian), black metal (Dissection), folk (Månegarm), or melodic death (too many to count), it seems that Sweden has an answer for everything.  One band that hopes to emerge is Marionette, who has their own take on the style perfected by the likes of At the Gates and Entombed.   On their latest album Enemies, they aren’t the most original thing out there, but there is some promise for a band that hopes to get noticed.

At first glance, the album cover for Enemies suggests that there is going to be some bizarre happenings on the album.  While one is unsure what to make of the album cover, once the first notes for “The Swine” hit, it becomes clear that Marionette is influenced by its melodic death metal forefathers.  To call the music technical death metal would be false, as while there are instances of precision within the music, there are also instances where melody is found, as evidenced on songs such as “Anthropomorphism” and “The Silver Spoon.”  The vocals are typical for the style of music that they play, which is to that the band doesn’t stray far from the beaten path in that regard.  The drumming on the album is one of the better efforts by any band, though it isn’t there just to impress the listener.  The instrumental “The Slaughter” can be considered a break from the brutality that the band brings, if you want to call it a break.  The music is a fairly balanced offering of style and subtlety, with the band leaning more towards the subtle side of things, as is best noted on “The Lie.”  However, the one big problem with the album is that it leads to the “If you’ve heard one melodic death metal band, you’ve heard them all” complaint.  To be fair though, not many bands nowadays can claim originality, so Marionette is not alone there.  Depending on how they feel about the rather mechanistic delivery that Marionette uses for its music, listeners will either love it or hate it, with some in between the two.

Marionette does not exactly break new ground in the music scene.  Then again, it is hard to find a band that can do such a thing.  What the band has going for them is some rather enjoyable melodic death metal that with some refinement of their style and perhaps even some more dimension in the vocals, could elevate the band.  Enemies has enough moments to give the listener a reason to give it multiple spins.  Remember the name Marionette because in five to ten years, they may be the band to keep track of.

Release Date: October 5th, 2009
Label: Listenable Records

TRACK LISTING

1.  The Swine
2.  Silver Spoon
3.  Stench Of The Herd
4.  Anthropomorphism
5.  Unman
6.  Hatelust
7.  The Slaughter
8.  The Lie
9.  Your Hands
10.  Creatures
11.  Through Veils
12.  Their Knives
13.  The Truth

Total playing time:  49:25

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Marionette - Enemies