DIVIDED MULTITUDE – Guardian Angel

Norway is probably the country with most Progressive Power Metal bands per capita in the world, and there are a lot of bands in the underground that you probably will hear in a year or two. Whether this will be the new wave of music export like Norwegian Black Metal, is or was, is doubtful, but there’s no question that Norway is among the leading countries when it comes to Progressive Power Metal. Divided Multitude has been around longer than most of these bands, and this year marks the 15th anniversary for the Norwegian band.

Divided Multitude released their debut-album, Inner Self, in 1999 through Sensory Records. Their second album, Falling To Pieces, was released in 2002. The band got more and more prominent gigs and played a lot of festivals, among them Prog Power Europe. From 2004 the band entered a period of low activity, and the members concentrated on other bands and projects. In 2007 the band decided to get back together to record something again. They recorded a demo, entitled Guardian Angel, and eventually decided to make it a full-length album instead. The album Guardian Angel was recorded late 2008 in Skansen Lydstudio and @home studios. The mastering was handled by the legendary Jacob Hansen at Hansen Studios.

For the most part Guardian Angel is a Power Metal album with Progressive elements. There are impressive technical instrumental parts, often with odd-metered time structures, but the length of the songs are no longer than 7-8 minutes at the longest, and the complex and constantly developing structures of traditional Progressive Rock and Metal songs (therefore the name “progressive”) are nowhere to be found. The songs are catchy and filled with merciless, heavy riffing, and it doesn’t take much time before you understand that these are talented musicians. There are great moments on this album, like the great riffing on “Nowhere To Hide,” the progressive parts on “Senses,” and the more straight Heavy/Power Metal structures on “Something For Someone” and “Regrets.”

Vocalist Sindre Antonsen sounds a bit like Tom Roger Piippo (ex-Phoenix Rising), and this can especially be heard on the song “Nowhere To Hide.” Perhaps this isn’t really a comparison to Piipo, but rather the time when Piipo was active (early 2000). However, Antonsen has a lot more to offer than Piipo, and he sings with more power and more balls. His voice lacks a bit of diversity though, and he seems to be singing with the same amount of power all the time. The same can be said about the album in general; it lacks a bit of diversity and might be a bit trapped in time.

Their sound might be a bit dated, but the production on this album is superb. What really stands out is the drum sound. It’s simply great. Guardian Angel is a good album with solid production, but it fails to reach the top of the genre. The album lacks the extra touches and innovation that you can hear on releases from bands like Pagan’s Mind and Symphony X, but there are enough enjoyable moments on this album to make it an interesting release. It’s worth a listen for any fan of melodic Metal.

Lineup

Christer Harøy – Guitars
Eskild Kløften – Keyboards and organ
Anders Vinje – Drums
Sindre Antonsen – Vocals
Rayner Harøy – Bass