CoC : Left Hand Solution - Fevered : Review

Left Hand Solution - _Fevered_
(Nuclear Blast, 1997)
by: Pedro Azevedo (8 out of 10)

LHS have been around for some time now, but this is their first full-length album - and a worthy one too. This Swedish band lays their music upon some dirge-like guitar playing, well backed by the bass, with a very good drummer, Erik Barthold, who also happens to write most of the music. On top of this, there's a very talented female vocalist, Mariana Holmberg, who owns a melodic, varied, and mostly very sorrowful voice, and is responsible for most of the melodies. Comparing LHS to The Gathering is almost impossible to avoid, but the two bands are actually quite different once you get to know them: LHS are doomier, sadder, and slower, while The Gathering rely more on the excellence of their melodies, the doom influences being somewhat softer. Which one is better? That will depend mostly on the listener, as both bands are very good, even though I consider The Gathering as being a bit better. About _Fevered_, it's a must-buy if you enjoy doomy, yet melodic, femme vox-based bands; however, this is not a soft album at all, despite the female vocalist (or possibly -because- of the female vocalist, at times), as both the atmosphere and the sound itself are somber and heavy all the time, even though they use some softer parts. An album that shows lots of personality and very high quality.

(article published 7/6/1997)

ALBUMS
12/8/1997	A Bromley	3	Left Hand Solution - Fevered