From 1997 comes this little gem. I think a one hit wonder, as I since have not heard from In The Name again. Which is a pity, as I really like this CD. But that is preaching to the converted I guess…
Okay, the quartet of Fabien Madeleine (vocals), Mark Stewartson (guitars), Tom Bokicki (bass) and Dan Russell (Drums) serve us a metal album that even borders into progressive territories. And produced by Richard Chycki, whose name (a.o. Rush) is of course pretty well known by know. The band play with dynamics in a manner that reveals a creative ear.
Opener Far Cry is a showcase; powerful riffs are coupled with much lighter parts. Madeleine´s voice sometimes reminds of a young Geoff Tate (Queensryche) and I would not be surprised if that band is an influence. Endless Night again combines again combines several moods. And it is beginning to show how good a bass player Bokicki is. His playing really brings something fresh to the table and the band chose wise to let that come to the fore. Blinded then continues in a much more forward metal manner. Nothing wrong with that. And then comes my highlight of the album, the eternal Dead Of Winter. Opening with clean / acoustic like sounding guitars, the band kick it back a few notches and lead us into this beautiful song. And did I mention the bass playing is good? Here it is stunning in the instrumental break. Bass and guitar play off on each other and create an excellent piece of music that compliments the already beautiful vocal parts. A must have! Goose bumps every time I hear it. Makes we wanna hit repeat over and over.
To round this off, the rest of the album is worth the effort to track this down also, but Dead Of Winter is THE reason to own this CD.
