Anomaly - Somewhere Within The Pines

Anomaly hail from Milwaukee, Wisconsion and "Somewhere Within The Pines" is their second full length effort, just a year later from their debut. While this death metal group had a bit of a run of the mill effort with their first album, here they step things up quite a bit for more than just an average listen. There's technical death, there's melo death, there's doom death, and even a bit of folk involved. Certainly a varied listen and a big middle finger to the naysayers who didn't like their early stuff. Tracks like 'Cursed to Meet Another Sunrise' sound a bit like faster Swallow The Sun with more melodic overtones, especially in the vocals. Then one gets the quieter sections that are a bit doomier.

More technical tracks like 'My Bleached Bones' are longer, heavier, and anthemic with their thumping drum sections. Even the quieter parts are more progressive in a depressing Novembers Doom kind of way with the clean vocals. For those that are really looking for a random, but almost perfect break from the heaviness, they will want to check out 'Don't Go Into Those Woods Alone.' Devoid of metal completely it is more of a murder folk piece that would make Amigo the Devil proud. There is a bit of tongue in cheek humor with it so it is a little bit of a strange filler but just as dark and macabre as some of the more metal tracks like 'These Cold Creeping Winds.'

'Sentenced To The Trees' kicks things into overdrive with the melodic technicality of the guitars and keyboards; this one is probably the heaviest track on the album. Even with the acoustic breakdown at the end, it still slams on a heavy note. The closing 'One Last Glimpse At The Cursed Sun' drags a bit but is an excellent piece of melodic doom that storms along from beginning to end. Yes it is safe to say that Anomaly have a solid album from start to finish with "Somewhere Within The Pines." This five piece have done something pretty impressive that will pull listeners from multiple genres and present a balanced, epic album that is as dark as it is interesting.

5 / 5 STARS