NOSTALGIA

Of all the Opeth clones I've heard this year, this album by Gwynbleidd is by far the best. The band has been working on these songs for a long time, already presenting a preview of some of them on the 2006 EP Amaranthine. But compared to that EP, the hours of practice, live performances and fine-tuning has made all rough building blocks fall nicely into place.

As I've mentioned somewhere before, Opeth clones seem to concentrate on one specific Opeth sound and for Gwynbleidd this has clearly been My Arms Your Hearse. 'Nostalgia' is a dark and brutal album, with melodic elements but with few clean vocals, and with a dense claustrophobic sound that perfectly captures the essence of MAYH. But unlike Opeth they don't manage to come up with truly memorable compositions. Instead this whole album is a bit of a blur, sounding like one continuous song with few distinguishable elements, even after multiple listens. Luckily, the multiple listens aren't a burden, as this album is a pleasure to listen to and makes for excellent car-music.

As with most clones, the need for imitation somehow smothers the own creative freedom, and whereas the album is strong throughout, I still miss some defining moments and cool hooks. I hope future releases from this band will explore their proper sound. The talent and the intensity are there, now the identity. 3.5 stars still.