Search - Noumena :: Absence

This sounds nothing like kalmah

tK | 08/31/2005

(5 out of 5 stars)

"the guy under said this album is like the style of kalmah. this band features no keyboards and the vocalist GROWLS unlike the kalmah vocalist who screams mechanically. Also, there is a lot of singing in this album. With that said, I would say this album is a more lively and better produced version of old Amorphis. It's great melodic death from Finland. The album personally reminds me of Gardenian's Soulburner. Very similar I would say, except the style is more like Amorphis. I suggest you get it, if you like singing melodic death and growling with good guitar melodies, then this is it."

Melodic death/doom with a twist

MarquisdeSade | Atlanta, GA | 11/04/2009

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Noumena was recommended to me in my quest for music similar to Above the Weeping World-era Insomnium. I'm glad to say I followed up, because this band probably is one of the most underrated melodeath outfits out there. The kicker is that it's not at all an Insomnium clone: although the tone and leads are similar, they have plenty of clean vocals too. The male vocalist has a really great range -- solid growls and a pleasant cleans. Here's the kicker --- some songs feature a female vocalist too (not a lot though -- just about the same amount as Dark Tranquillity underrated first album, Skydancer). The leads are very memorable, and the music is definitely doomier than Insomnium: slower, more deliberate, less fast riffing, etc., but I think it suits Noumena's style quite well.



So, give this album a try if you're a fan of Insomnium but are looking for a refreshing change. Ignore the guy who gave this 4 stars and says it sounds like Kalmah."

Why didn't I hear this album earlier?!

Nah Bean | a small hole | 07/15/2005

(4 out of 5 stars)

"Closest thing I can compare them to is Kalmah, and I'd say they're pretty close; melodic death metal no doubt.



I grabbed their first album when I got this too, and this is far better. Song are written better, slightly more complex, over all better performance. But I say 4 stars, 4.5 if I could, because they sound like they've got some room for improvement.



The guitar work is the outstanding feature here. Amazing melodies, good drumming, and if you don't like his growling at first you'll get used to it. There's some clean vocals here I definately dig, they go well with the guitar and atmospheres set (unlike a lot of random clean vocals in this genre).



Personal favorite songs are Slain Memories (4) and Prey of the Tempter (6), but the first 6 flow GREAT and I like 'em all. 7 and 8 are decent, and 9's a pretty good ending song.



Definately worth the money, and it's great to see we're still getting good, quality, talented metal releases in present day. All the hard/metalcore and nu-metal releases and crap discouraging you? Get this. (and go ahead and preorder Opeth's new album Ghost Reveries, I asked Mikael on a scale 1-10 how good he thinks it is, he said "11". so you know it's going to be AMAZING)"