### Empatic: Gods of thousand souls

#### 06/07/12 || Habakuk

Let me start with the conclusion: If this band manages to become more consistent – towards the positive end of their songwriting capabilities – then we have a serious contender for my imaginary melodic death metal throne. I am not big on that genre, mind you, just consider it a throne vacancy. Until they get there, it’s still a bit of a ride though. Right now we have a lot of potential on our hands, but only few songs as well as some bits here and there which live up to it. The album kicks off on a high note and ends on one (bar the cover of a mediocre song that can’t retrieve much from it), but both of these notes last for 30 seconds or 2 songs respectively, and in between those you get the occasional quality high (often owed to the lead guitar), but mostly you are allowed to zone out and just keep it doodling in the background – pleasantly, but not engagingly enough. It’s only when the few really good parts kick in that you’re actually grabbed by the throat again and not just get thrown aggro and melody parts at you. The production is quite good with ripping guitars and audible bass, the vocals are fine, it all simply lacks the certain spark that “Fulfilled Dreams” and “Empatic” brightly flash. Damn shame, it is.

6/10: Listen to the two tracks cited and come back for their next effort.