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Never judge a book by its cover, they say. Good advice. Upon first glance at Arrows by Norway’s Stonegard, one might me tempted to believe this is some sort of stoner-doom band. Quite the contrary; aside from the stoner rock-like album cover and seemingly apt band name, Stonegard is much more an alternative metal band than anything else, but with more of an extreme approach. They are called a stoner rock band, but I really don’t hear it. They do manage to pull in some contrasting styles to make something of a unique sound—black/death metal riffs, melodic passages, old school 70’s rock, traditional heavy metal, grunge, nu-metal, and even a little southern rock. But I think they’re versed in a more alternative metal style. Unfortunately, however, while Stonegard has managed to create quite a solid and competent menagerie of sounds and offer a nice dose of originality, Arrows simply lacks truly memorable songs.
Arrows starts out with “Ghost Circles,” a short instrumental, and then kicks off with the title track, a song that initially disguises itself as a melodic death metal track. However, the vocals and verse riffs betray that notion. This song is the prototypical Stonegard song. It’s dynamic and interesting, but lacking of a truly solid hook, something that warrants repeat, on-the-spot listens. Some tracks like “Resistance” and “Goldbar” offer a more melodic distraction from the monotony, but again, they lack that endearing quality that would make this a great album. All is not lost, though; Arrows is most definitely not a bad album. In fact, it’s quite good; but generally this is going to be a one-and-done album, something you’ll enjoy occasionally, but not wish to play over and over again. Stonegard definitely has a unique formula to work with here; they simply need to focus on creating something a bit more alluring next time out.
| Tracklist |
| 1. Ghost Circles |
| 2. Arrows |
| 3. Hunter |
| 4. At Arms Length |
| 5. Resistance |
| 6. The White Shaded Lie |
| 7. Triggerfinger |
| 8. Barricades |
| 9. Goldbar |
| 10. Darkest Hour |
: 35.19
| Buy other Stonegard albums |
