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THE REVIEW
The 36 Crazyfists return after the excellent "A Snow Capped Romance" by releasing the natural follow-up "Rest Inside the Flames" on RoadRunner. I say the natural follow-up because just by comparing the covers of this and the previous one, you can sense there's some connection. Whereas "A Snow Capped Romance" featured a frozen heart, "Rest Inside the Flames" presents a heart engulfed in flames. The artwork is really not bad, but let's specifically analyze the album in question.
The (melodic) metal played by this excellent band looks beyond negativity and aggressively emphasizes positivity. From here, songs are born about the small things in daily life.
The CD opens with a "barked" verse that comes to life in a climactic shout before fading into a chorus where melody and violence contrast.
Following is "Felt Through A Phone Line" (wonderful) and "On Any Given Night", a rare instance where the screams are almost entirely absent.
Noteworthy is "Elysium", violent and beautiful, one of the gems on this splendid album, featuring collaboration with their friend and label mate Howard Jones of Killswitch Engage.
The song "Aurora" is dreamlike, speaking of the magnificence of the Aurora Borealis and how it reflects the magic of love and life. The emotional "The Great Descent" also stands out, opening with a resonant guitar arpeggio and vocals pained with sorrow before entering a hailstorm of pounding beats and dry riffs.
Another collaboration is found in the song "We Cannot Deny", where Jonah Jenkins, singer of Only Living Witness, makes an appearance.
The album closes with the slow acoustic song "The City Ignites", which is none other than the beautiful "Midnight Swim" (another gem of this CD) in an acoustic version. Quite an original concept for a metal band, but really well done, thanks especially to Lindow's voice.
Besides being more lyrically revealing, the album is also musically better developed and more powerful than previous works; in fact, there are many more double-basses than before and many more mosh parts. The 36 Crazyfists have always been quite powerful live, but it had never truly been captured on record until now. People said their live performances were amazing, I have seen them and can confirm that. For those who haven't had the pleasure yet, the appointment is on June 5th at the FlameFest in Bologna.
I don't want to exaggerate, but this is surely one of the best releases of 2006.
Phenomenal.
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Summary by Bot
36 Crazyfists' album Rest Inside the Flames is a powerful and musically advanced follow-up to their previous work. The band combines melody and aggression while delivering emotional lyrics and remarkable guest collaborations. The album captures the intensity of their live performances better than before. It stands as one of the best metal releases of 2006.
