Horizon Ignited – Towards the Dying Lands
Release Date: 1st July 2022
Label: Nuclear Blast Records
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Genre: Melodic Death Metal.
FFO: The Halo Effect, In Flames, Soilwork, Dark Tranquillity, Scar Symmetry.
Review By: Rick Farley
The early nineties produced some of the most amazing metal to ever grace our ears. One particular genre that holds a special place in my heart from that period is melodic death metal, particularly the ground-breaking bands that came from Gothenburg, Sweden. At the Gates, In Flames and Dark Tranquillity were all major players in the genres rise to fame, creating some of the most influential melodic death metal that transcends just being a subgenre niche. It had the heaviness of death metal but borrowed melodies from the NWOBHM, gargantuan hooks with harmonized guitars and higher pitched shrieks, it was an electrifying amalgamation. The floodgates were blown wide open, spawning an entire movement that took the metal world completely by storm. A massive number of bands and even a few genres owe a lot to those Swedes.
Thankfully, Horizon Ignited know this and pays tremendous respect to the genre while branching themselves out just a bit further. This sextet from Kouvola, Finland plays propulsive guitar driven melodic death metal with catchy metalcore elements and arena ready anthemic style choruses. The release of Towards the Dying Lands marks the bands second album, but is their debut on Nuclear Blast Records. The band currently has quite the buzz generated, and deservedly so. Even though there are plenty of harsh vocals and sharp metallic heaviness, there’s an accessibility about this record that will please a lot of metalheads. It’s inviting, catchy and has some serious metal mainstream appeal.
Stylistically, this record reminds me of “Reroute to Remain.” It’s definitely not a clone, but both albums have a similar musical vibe. Crunchy chugging guitars with those fierce melodies, big choruses, memorable hooks and not afraid to be musically adventurous. The use of synths and blistering guitars on tracks such as Fall Apart and Death Has Left Her Side, remind me of Dark Tranquillity, which creates some great atmosphere between brutal and melancholic. Eventide of Abysmal Grief being the most diverse track features piano, Maiden like melodies, and sombre crestfallen clean verses. The bands vocalist, Okko Solanterä has some serious pipes and delivers some incredible vocal performances. Low guttural growls, screechy highs and soaring cleans, much in the vein of Matt Barlow or Howard Jones. His balance between gruff and cleanly sung vocals, brings to mind Björn “Speed” Strid of Soilwork fame, just with much harsher growls. These are some boss level vocals.
Unfortunately, Horizon Ignited doesn’t really push any boundaries and is draped in familiarity, which is not necessarily a bad thing. For what they do, they do it very well. A timeless sound refined for modern times. The production on Towards the Dying Lands is glistening. Extremely polished to the point that some could take that as a negative. Personally, I’m on the fence; the record sounds incredible, but I wish it had a slightly more organic feel to it. Some rougher edges to really hit home the juxtaposition between beautiful melodies and brutish riffs. From a performance standpoint, the band executes with razor precision, offering up catchy, epic sounding and sing along friendly melodic death metal with high appeal. The songs are beautifully written and engaging, but for better or worse have a formulaic approach that’s a tad predictable, also not always bad. With that said, I definitely enjoyed this record. It’s safe to say Horizon Ignited will captivate a whole mess of fans and will surely leave a significant impression on the metal world. 
(3.5 / 5)
cool!
again new band found \m/
much love!