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The Few Against Many: Sot

08/10/09 || Euthanatos

So out of the millions of CD’s we get sent each month, I picked this one out of the bunch to review because it said it features the former vocalist of Scar Symmetry, Christian Älvestam, whom I happen to think is a great singer and I was pretty curious to listen to what he was up to. Well, Christian is out with not just this one album, but two, with the new Miseration also being released, and will have the honors done by GardensTale shortly.

Here, in The Few Against Many, Christian sings (or growls) and plays guitar, making him the all-American hero. I mean, Swedish hero. As he’s Swedish. Yeah, I know you were aware. Plus, he’s bald and has a goatee, which makes him looks like Lord K. No, really, it does.

Moving on, though, this band is a radical departure from Christian’s work on Scar Symmetry. His vocals are much deeper this time around, death metal growling through and through, and although he’s a talented fucker when it comes to actual singing, that is not to be heard here at all. As a matter of fact, it wouldn’t really suit the music.

But do not make the hasty mistake of labeling this true occult extreme death metal, no, sir. While this is the heaviest we’ve heard of Christian, it still has a lot of melody to it, not only in the guitar parts, but also courtesy of a little keyboard here and there. Those keyboards, actually, remind me a lot of Dan Swanö, particularly on stuff like “Moontower”. Not that Dan had actually anything to do with the album, but just a reference. Tomas “Plec” Johansson was the one responsible for production, and he has done a mighty job on it. And while we’re comparing and Swanö-ing things, the production on this does somewhat remind me of The Project Hate, as does Christian singing remind me of J. No, seriously, there’s a resemblance! Plus he’s bald now! Goatee!

It’s hard to pin down The Few Against Many in a metal label, because they’ve niftily set themselves apart here. No, they haven’t created the most original dildo in the sex shop, but are, truly, in a league of their own, blending death metal and melody in a way quite different than your usual Gothenburg way-past-its-prime scene. This is a lot heavier, you can actually feel a pulse, and it just might be the pulse of Christian’s giant throbbing cock inside your anus. Hey, you never know. But, really, in all seriousness, this isn’t as far as The Project Hate alley as one would think. It’s the closest band I can think of. While they don’t sound entirely alike, odds are, if you like one, you’ll like the other, because both are awesome and both have taken death metal one step further in the evolutionary ladder.

Anyway, if you’re a Scar Symmetry fan, it’s debatable if you’ll enjoy this. It’s certainly quality shit, but it’s nothing like the man’s previous band, Miseration might be more up your alley. But if you like bands that are pushing the metal fold and striving to be something different, and you don’t throw a hissy fit every time someone pours some sugar in your death metal, please take a seat and have a go.

The cover: Dan Seagrave did it, so it’s automatically awesome.

Information
Released: 2009
Label: Pulverised Records
Website: The Few Against Many MySpace
Band
Christian Älvestam: vocals, guitars
Patrik Garberg: guitars
Anders Edlund: bass
Par Johansson: backing vocals
Jani Stefanovic: drums

Tracklist
01. Hädanfärd
02. Bränd Mark
03. Blod
04. Skapelsens Sorti
05. Sot
06. Abider
07. Heresi
08. One With the Shadow

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