CoC : Violation - Moonlight's Child : Review

Violation - _Moonlight's Child_
(Red Stream, 2000)
by: Aaron McKay (6 out of 10)

I'll be honest, after the first couple of listens to this German-based melodic death / atmospheric metal band, I was chewing over the possibility of spitting Violation out with a lot less of a grade than what they ultimately scored. As you can see, they won me over a touch more than what an average score might indicate. Formed in 1993, Violation's _Beyond the Graves_ disc finally saw the light of day in early 1998 after contracting with Last Episode Productions. Endeavoring to release the follow-up CD, the band parted company with Last Episode and sparked a brief relationship with Invasion Records before settling in the fine company of Red Stream. The Violation bouquet, smelling somewhat like an In Flames fragranced Gates of Ishtar rose, is truly very becoming and certainly one that grows on you. Recording at the Abyss II and co-production by Peter Tagtgren could only have helped the effort, but the strongest aspects of the band rely almost exclusively on their melody and not brutality. If Violation would concentrate more on melody and loosen their struggle for brutality, I'd have no trouble giving this effort a 8 or 9 out of 10; but things are not this way, you see. A glorified, intense melodic atmosphere awaits the listener like a siren beckoning to a lonely sea captain, but if it is unadulterated brutality you crave, your desire will surely be splintered against the rocks.

(article published 12/8/2000)