Review Summary: This album will provide a healthy dose of melodic black metal that can be listened to pretty easily, just let the fabulous riffs and pounding vocals lead the way as you relax in the glorious atmosphere this album gives off.
Tribes of Cain
Retaliation
I’ve always been more of a fan of the melodic style of black metal than any other form of it. Those infectious melodies coupled with the typical quick tempo and bleak atmosphere, it all adds up to a great sound when done right. All the greats of this sub-genre did it so very well, Dissection, Vinterland, Tribes of Cain are a band I’d never previously hear of, but they do melodic black metal so right, and add a healthy dose of death metal with it.
The bands most obvious influences are
Dissection and
Naglfar, they play the exact same breed of black metal and they do it to near enough the same standard as these two well known artists. Their songs overflow with emotion and an atmosphere that pushes the listener away but makes you want to enjoy the album even more so. The production is top notch, capturing that black metal sound while still actually being listenable. There are no gimmicks to Tribes of Cain, they don’t try to impress by doing anything drastically different, they just write some damn good songs. Their tempo usually sticks around the same level, occasionally dipping into mid-tempo areas which helps keep you interested, but the band are by far at their best when they are assaulting your senses with their blackened death metal riffs and pounding away with the impressively powerful drumming. Tracks like ‘One Will Alone’ may start off quite slow, but they build to such pleasing climaxes that it doesn’t matter, Tribes of Cain can be ferocious, or they can be pretty deliberate, and they are always interesting to the listener.
The band’s best asset are the fantastic melodic riffs that they pull out on every song; each one capturing a vibe and atmosphere that is their trademark throughout the album. The guitarists vary their tempo throughout, often saving the best melodies for later in the songs for better effect, which is a very powerful aspect of their music. The drumming too, often varies, from mid-tempo, rather rhythmic stuff to complete all out blast beats, they are very impressive and the production suits them perfectly to give them a dominating punch while not dominating the music. The vocals are pretty one-dimensional throughout, but there is nothing to complain about, the mid-tempo scream might be better suited to a typical death metal band but it helps differentiate them from a few of their black metal peers, and after a few listens of the album, you find them growing on you as they match the ferocity of the album pretty well, and he alters his delivery to suit the temp as well, another small thing which is rather impressive. Retaliation is a pretty consistent album, but the band really step up a gear in the final quarter, with ‘Where Blood Runs Cold’, ‘Hjadningavig’ and ‘Fifth Star’ easily being three of the best songs on the album, there are also two piano pieces and an ambient track in the album, which I oddly enjoyed, despite not usually being a fan of such things. They suited the bleak atmosphere of the album and gave it a sorrowful tone.
'Looking back I realize, I lost my mind - again'
If the rest of the album was up to the quality of the last three real tracks then the album would be absolutely amazing, but unfortunately tracks like ‘Ikon der Einsamkeit’ which don’t really get going until the last minute drag it down. But then again, when a band make a song like ‘Where Blood Runs Cold’, you know they have potential. This song does everything, flirts with Swedish melodies, the song starts out like something old era
In Flames would write, before smashing into a stellar riff that I have come to love this band for, then the sound suddenly switches into something so reminiscent of Dissection I couldn’t help but be blow away by it, the vocals are at their best here as they are spat out quickly to match the tempo and it all plays up to a ridiculously fantastic climax. Another song I should highlight is the nine minute epic ‘The Fifth Star’, which manages to show off the emotional aspect of the band, giving off an atmosphere like nothing else on the album.
'We are reborn in legends, we are reborn with wings!'
Tribes of Cain are a cohesive unit, there are no surprises when you listen to their music, and maybe that is a small fault, as they play a pretty popular style too, but they do it so well and proficiently that it doesn’t really matter. But this record does not demand anything from the listener, you can pretty much listen to this through this just once and get the full story with it, which is a bit of a shame, there are no real little things that you can listen to it a few times for, but while it lasts, it is a very entertaining album.
Hopefully on their next album, Tribes of Cain will mix things up a bit, maybe add a few new elements to their music, but until then, this album will provide a healthy dose of melodic black metal that can be listened to pretty easily, just let the fabulous riffs and pounding vocals lead the way as you relax in the glorious atmosphere this album gives off.
