Lazarus A.D. – Black Rivers Flow (Metal Blade)
You know, it’s not that I don’t like this record, per se–it’s really not bad. When you’re listening to it as background music, not really giving it much thought, it seems like a decent slab of modern American metal. But it does not reward close attention. Instead, the harder you listen to this record, the less you find lurking within its grooves. There’s always one specific style in the metal world that is just passing the point where it went from exciting new sound to slightly overdone, and it’s that style that always gets flooded with mediocre bands on big labels, who accelerate the downfall of the sound and take it from still kind of interesting to totally played out in about six months. Lazarus AD’s new record is a generic example of the sort of mediocrity that is being rewarded in the metal community circa 2011. If you thought Lamb Of God was really cool five years ago, and you dig bands like Chimaira and God Forbid so much that you’d completely enjoy a third-rate, more commercialized version of them, then Black Rivers Flow is probably right up your alley. But if you’re a metal fan that wants to be challenged, or shown something new, you’re going to have to look elsewhere, because Lazarus AD haven’t got anything for you.
Lazarus A.D. – Black Rivers Flow (Metal Blade)
You know, it’s not that I don’t like this record, per se–it’s really not bad. When you’re listening to it as background music, not really giving it much thought, it seems like a decent slab of modern American metal. But it does not reward close attention. Instead, the harder you listen to this record, the less you find lurking within its grooves. There’s always one specific style in the metal world that is just passing the point where it went from exciting new sound to slightly overdone, and it’s that style that always gets flooded with mediocre bands on big labels, who accelerate the downfall of the sound and take it from still kind of interesting to totally played out in about six months. Lazarus AD’s new record is a generic example of the sort of mediocrity that is being rewarded in the metal community circa 2011. If you thought Lamb Of God was really cool five years ago, and you dig bands like Chimaira and God Forbid so much that you’d completely enjoy a third-rate, more commercialized version of them, then Black Rivers Flow is probably right up your alley. But if you’re a metal fan that wants to be challenged, or shown something new, you’re going to have to look elsewhere, because Lazarus AD haven’t got anything for you.
