Equilibrium is a German band that has been growing in popularity over the years, but never quite tipped entirely over into the mainstream. They play a particularly bombastic union of melodic death metal with heavy-handed folk elements all written and orchestrated by keyboardist, guitarist, and composer, René Berthiaume. I have been a fan. Their first two albums, Turis Fratyr and Sagas both blew me away in showcasing just how much fun folk metal can get. Rather than focusing on clashing swords, this band has always felt more like the soundtrack to an epic role-playing (or drinking) game. Their later releases saw a change in vocalist and, in my opinion, a drifting a little too far into cheesiness; but their music continued to be fun nonetheless. Today marks the release of their latest outing, Armageddon: an album that the band promises is much darker than any prior material.
Simply looking at the first two singles, this is still a mixed bag though. While "Prey" is certainly a more somber affair that might have made it onto the latest Amon Amarth album, "Born to Be Epic" jumps the damn shark. I can't tell if we're being trolled, the band is just having fun being silly, or they are being 100% serious. In any case, this track goes full Dethklok in terms of both musicianship and lyrics; just add some bouncy simulated pipes and you get the idea. While it is certainly a goofy one, this track is really what I come to Equlibrium looking for, much like their previous single "Wirtshaus Gaudi." I don't want to be serious...I want to get sh#$faced. This is power metal with death vox.
But this track is kind of like the lead single from a lot of pop albums: it draws attention but isn't always in the spirit of the rest of the material. Or back in the metal realm, it reminds me of "Amerika" off of Rammstein's Reise Reise. While there are still some borderline cheeseball songs ("Heimat," "Koyaaniskatsi" and my god that awesome Beverly Hills Cop-esque synth line on "Helden"), I will agree that overall this album maintains the more somber approach of Turis Fratyr. Given that this is still Equilibrium we are talking about, I'm not saying this is a funeral dirge, but it is less inclined towards mead and RPG's. The vocals feel harsher, deathier (albeit still with more than a tinge of Nathan Explosion), and the compositions often have a more ominous feel (especially closing track, "Eternal Destination"). This last point is especially notable since I tend to think of all of Equilibrium's closing tracks feeling epic-yet-playful. Here the conclusion feels much weightier.
So I just said a lot of words, but the question may still remain: do I like Armageddon? Simply put: yes. I was a little skeptical about this one given their trajectory since Rekreator turning me off a little bit, but I really do like this album a lot. I think the band has achieved a fine balance of their goofy, bombastic side with the more subdued and controlled compositional elements that made their first two albums so strong. It can be hard to truly reconcile the old with the new, but Equilibrium have made it happen. This is perhaps best exemplified by one of my favorite tracks, "Katharsis," which is serious to a point, but at times sounds like Europe with DM vocals. Overall, the songs are strong while being fun at the same time. At the very least, Armageddon may be their best album since Sagas. At most, I might even argue that this album is more consistent than their early works. Regardless of how strong my opinion may be, all of this is to say that you should check the album out today. I will be buying the CD for sure.