EMERGENCY GATE

In its purest form it is called Swedish melodic death metal, which in and of itself isn't all that pure and rarely Swedish these days. Though varying in its tried and true form, melodic metalcore as heard through an Americanized filter through which the likes of AT THE GATES and IN FLAMES have passed is probably a more accurate description of "The Nemesis Construct" from Germany's EMERGENCY GATE. Whatever way you decide to slice it into tiny little pieces this is modern, heavy, and very melodic metal that is rather decent, if only distinct on the margins.

EMERGENCY GATE can certainly credit acts like SOILWORK, CALIBAN, and to some extent KILLSWITCH ENGAGE, if for no other reason than on "The Nemesis Construct" those cleanly sung choruses are pretty well written and catchy, particularly those on the album's first half. The new kings they are not, but the sextet at least took note of the fact that clean choruses do not by design equate to memorable ones and seemingly spent time weeding out the weakest ones. One of those glistening refrains can be heard on "Dark Side of the Sun" on which EVERGREY's Thomas Englund makes a guest vocal appearance, although his presence automatically makes the song a shade darker. It is an album highlight and in good company with "Alternative Dead End", "Nothing to Lose", "An End to the Age of Man", and "Point Zero". The keyboard work of Daniel Schmidle further enhances the melodies, keeping it classy and never serving to distract. When vocalist Matthias Kupka isn't reaching for the stars, he's driving verses through brick walls whilst his band mates knock out bruising riffs and battering rhythms for the duration.

On the downside, the production is compressed and muddy; while tolerable, clarity does suffer and breathing room is nonexistent. That and the fact that the album begins to peter out around "The Green Mile" are the main problems. Ten tracks would have been plenty; welcomes begin showing wear at 13. Otherwise "The Nemesis Construct" thunders and croons well past mediocre. Just don't expect it to lead any kind of resurgence.