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Deadtide.com
-Warblade
-The Phantom Blaze
-Oak Knoll Records
-2005
-Reviewed by Bob.D
-Oak Knoll Productions has another solid melodic death metal record on its hands with Warblade’s The Phantom Blaze. Combining old-school death vocals and plenty of harmonized rhythms (moreso than leads), these American death metal meisters should appeal to fans of Black Dahlia Murder and In Flames alike. While not as Florida sounding as Black Dahlia or Cannibal Corpse, and not as Swedish sounding as In Flames, Warblade is somewhere in between, with certain aspects of power metal leads thrown into the mix for good measure.
The bottom line is that this is a pretty good American take on an otherwise European sound. It’s not mangled with breakdowns or cheesy choruses about broken hearts, and it’s surely better off that way. All the songs are fairly memorable, and the album closer, the nearly 13-minute "Inferno," doesn’t get old. These guys are obviously more than competent musicians and songwriters, and with a little more experience at writing catchier and more memorable tunes (as cheesy as it sounds, catchiness and melody is what made those first few In Flames record as immortal as they are today), as well as a bigger budget for production (it sounds a bit tinny and not fully "pulled together"), Warblade could be a force to be reckoned with in the US death metal scene. Limited to only 1,000 pressings, The Phantom Blade will surely be a rewarding purchase for melo-death metal diehards. I’m definitely a sucker for melodic death, so it’s a welcomed addition to me collection. Plus, with cover art like that, you know it’s metal!
Standout Tracks
Inferno
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-metal-rules.com
-Warblade - The Phantom Blaze
-April 2006
-Released: 2005, Oak Knoll Productions
-Rating: 4.0/5
-Reviewer: Asassinkiller
-In my opinion there are two waves of Melodic Death Metal. The first one, or Old School Melodeath as I like to call it, is the one that bands like In Flames, Dark Tranquillity, At The Gates, A Canorous Quintet and Ceremonial Oath showcased in each of the bands first two releases. The music was extremely melodic and technical, but at the same time unpolished and with a very raw extreme sound. The second wave of Melodeath, which I see as the truly influential one, came with releases like THE JESTER RACE, THE MINDS I, SLAUGHTER OF THE SOUL and THE FIFTH SEASON from Sacrilege. Here the music was more polished, extremely melodic, and showcased a much cleaner and punchy sound. Even the musicians started to play their instruments way better, which led to the emotion being somehow replaced by a more mechanical sound.
Unfortunately for me, even if I still love the turn Melodeath took after THE JESTER RACE and the MINDS I, I have always been a true sucker of the Old School Melodeath movement and thankfully here is where Warblade comes in.
Recently, I got in my mail the sophomore release from these Americans, and all I can say is that I once again experienced the Old School Melodic Death Metal I had been missing for so long. It is awesome to listen to a band that can surely play their instruments and at the same time give a lot of importance to the raw edge and uncompromised approach of the early days. Aspect that I feel is missing in todays scene.
The music on THE PHANTOM BLAZE is a mix between Dark Tranquillitys THE GALLERY and SKYDANCER, In Flames LUNAR STRAIN and SUBTERRANEAN, Ceremonial Oaths excellent CARPET and Dissection to some extent. I guess I have summed it pretty much in here.
For some of you, this may be a hard album to find, but I truly recommend it for serious Extreme Melodic Metal fans. All songs are killers and raw. Fast yet full of emotion. The US is having some amazing Melodeath in the recent years, so I recommend you getting THE PHANTOM BLAZE to prove my point. And while you are at it also get any release from Arsis, you will be blown away. Stay Heavy!!!
