Entwine

DiEversity
Magick Records/Century Media

This Finnish Metal outfit has managed to make a surprising crossover between Goth and Nu-Metal, with twinges of more commercial Hard Rock. I hesitate to even mention the Nu-influence here, because of many people's predisposed hatred of the genre, but rest assured these guys (and gal) deliver a smashing performance.

One of the first things about their sound I should bring up is that there are no growls/rasps whatsoever. The closest that Mika (the vocalist) comes is a harsh melodic yell. This is by no means a criticism, for I think growls/rasps would have ruined the mood immensely. They are heavy without being overwhelmingly so, and they know when to hold back and let out something emotional instead. "Everything For You" is probably the best example of that.

I usually try to provide a comparison to other similar artists when reviewing, but I find it hard to draw any straight lines here. Gothic-wise, the closest resemblance I can come up with is Zeromancer. I'm sure there are plenty of bands that sound like these two, but I'm not familiar enough with the genre to know. By the same token, I must also bring up the Nu-Metal influence once again. In terms of bands, I would say look to Linkin Park, minus the raps and the scratching. If you are someone who dislikes LP, I would steer clear of Entwine, more because of their lyrics than anything else.

Gothic lyrics are usually pretty depressing, and tend to dwell on the darker, sadder aspects of human emotions. I suppose Entwine's lyrics are no different in value, but their presentation just smacks of Nu-Metal and Emo. An example from "Someone To Blame": [Verse one] 'How come you're blaming me about/ The things that I have never done/ It's such a shame/ Well, it's your weakness that you hide/ So, don't tell me how to live my life/ 'Cause you're so lame.' How many times have we as a listening audience heard that before, and for how many years? It's clichéd lyrical passages like this that bring the band down a level or two, despite their solid musical and production skills.

Musically (and non-comparatively) speaking, their songs are full of catchy and heavy hooks that drag you face-first through all three and a half minutes of the piece until the final notes reverberate across your speakers. The general track lengths are between 3:00 and 4:30, with the following exceptions: "2|4|943", the album's intro, which is five seconds long and just as pointless as it sounds, "Everything For You", which just tops six minutes, and "Lost Within", the album's closer, which hits 8:23 after a lengthy atmospheric passage during the latter portion of the song. Overall, the songs don't exceed their boundaries, and don't really leave you wishing they had. They are all quite comfortable feeling, and you glide through the album letting each one punch you in the gut as it passes.

Fans of Goth and/or Nu-Metal rejoice; this album has your name written all
over it.

Stu Patterson