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The Västerås, Sweden, based band Anachronaeon was previously known as Human Failure and this is their first recording under their new name. I will start off this review by highlighting the positive points of this nine-track demo, not because of the fact that it is perfect but simply because that will get me into a good mood. Above all this demo will be remembered for the extremely melodic content. Anachronaeon doesn't sound excessively Swedish though; instead the melodies are more in the melancholic Finnish vein and references such as early Amorphis and Sentenced quickly come to mind. There is something here for fans of the Swedish school as well as "The Amulet" has a nice melody that could just as easily have been found on In Flames' classic "The Jester Race". Anachronaeon are not entirely stuck in the past despite these comparisons and there are some more experimentive ideas found on this demo. Now we are moving towards the negative points of the demo. The vocalist (and Jack of all trades) Patrik Carlsson uses both clean and growling vocals, very possibly influenced by Mikael Åkerfeldt. The problem here is that his growling vocals are ok but his clean voice is not the best. He is a good singer, as shown on "Anachronaeon" and "The English Wizard" in particular, but he unfortunately lacks the voice. Most of this demo consists of rather laid-back, melancholic melodies but there are some heavier riffs now and then and the introductory guitar work on "Confessions Of A Lost Soul" is highly impressive. Another problem is that the nine tracks musically envisions a stream high up in the mountains. It is calm and a nice experience for the moment but eventually you grow bored with it. The members of Anachronaeon are too careful. They need to dare more in the future and work on the contrasts. This is definitely material that would have benefitted from a label's studio budget.
| Tracklist |
| 1. Exordium |
| 2. Anachronaeon |
| 3. Tornado |
| 4. The English Wizard |
| 5. The Amulet |
| 6. Shadows Taking Over |
| 7. Confessions Of A Lost Soul |
| 8. Reborn By Fire |
| 9. Sweet Tears Of Redemption |
: 49.02
| Buy other Anachronaeon albums |
