Fear of Domination starts a new era.
For its 20th anniversary, the band led by Saku Solin (vocals, Turmion Kätilöt), Jan-Erik Kari (guitar, Survivors Zero), Lauri Ojanen (bass), Johannes Niemi (guitar), and Lasse Raelahti (keyboards) is releasing its seventh album, Katharsis, on Inverse Records, the first one featuring new hires Jessica Salmi (vocals, ex-Everslave, ex-Therapist) and Anton Nisonen (drums, Pahan Ikoni).
Alone starts off strong with an energetic and catchy rhythm over which Saku and Jessica‘s screams echo each other, converging towards more melodic choruses that fit naturally into the rhythm of the composition and offer a few moments of respite. The track remains fairly simple, as does Dead Anyway, which starts off slowly before letting the keyboards enhance the charge of their modern touches while the vocals dance together. There is a very slight lull at the beginning of Monsters, then the jerky riffs take over, making us bang our heads with a catchy rhythm made aggressive by the shouting, but also with a furious solo that comes out of nowhere before the last chorus, then we move on to Imposter, which offers a much more imposing sound. Choirs and orchestrations are out in force, as are disturbing tones, making this track quite different from the others while remaining within a unifying dynamic. But the mood changes again with the heaviness and groove of Last Words, which will undoubtedly be one of the band’s favorite weapons for live performances in the future. The chorus sticks in your head easily, while Primum Noce Apte focuses on more virulent riffs infused with modern Melodic Death Metal to break our necks, but the track is quite short and the break briefly takes us out of this rage before moving on to Rabbit Hole, which calms down a bit while offering some catchy passages, as the band knows how to do. The final is perfect for getting the crowd going before the disco tones of All as One allow us to jump around happily while the band has fun, particularly on the leads that energize the track, as does the final chorus. The band then returns to majestic elements on the haunting Endgame, shifting from heavy moments to minimalistic parts, ending up remaining theatrical before Feel captivates us with a very different approach that is as gentle as it is disturbing, waiting until the last moment to push its melancholy to the extreme, offering a striking final.
Fear of Domination builds on its strengths and delivers the compositions we expected with Katharsis, always balancing pure energy with danceable touches. Each track is sure to make an impact live, but unfortunately the band struggles to export its sound.
75/100
