It’s always nice to see a band go through multiple demos and self-released (or indie lablel) full-lengths only to see their hard work pay off with a major label (in this case Century Media) contract and a full-length release. Century Media has had a habit of late of signing a lot of very modern sounding Metal bands; usually in the somewhat extreme but still melodic genres. Germany's Fear My Thoughts is no different as they have unleashed a CD full of two distinct Gothenburg influences with, and this goes without saying, a very polished and professional production job.

The Gothenburg sound is one of great debate among Metal heads. Most people either love it or hate it. They either applaud it for expanding and combining Metal styles in a completely new style with various sub-genres within, or loathing it for its modern influences, half or pseudo-Thrash tendencies (in a few bands), core vocals, and the greatest villain of all: (what some would call) pop-melodies, hooks, song structures, and clean vocals. It’s an odd genre to be sure because most of the bands who originated it sound very different today with the exception of Dark Tranquility, which have evolved their sound rather than completely adjusted or changed it. While bands like Soilwork, to an extent In Flames, and even The Haunted are bashed left and right for deviating too much from their genre's origins and incorporating too many of the above mentioned modern elements (whether it be core or nu-metal) the overall “scene” has many classic releases from bands like In Flames, Dark Tranquility, At The Gates, and you can even throw in early Night In Gales in there. So where does Fear My Thoughts fall into? Most people will be happy to hear that they sort of combine the mid-period of the Gothenburg sound with some of the new. If you can picture what Scar Symmetry might sound like with At The Gates (Slaughter Of The Soul era) influences then you may have an idea of the basis of this bands sound. Much like Scar Symmetry, and Soilwork before them (from A Predator’s Portrait to Natural Born Chaos), there is a heavy use of melodic background synth that usually is some what “spacey” in nature (including a few annoying instances of bleeps and blurps) that build on the guitar and vocal melodies. There is also a lot of rhythm heavy riffing complete with clean choruses that are highly reminiscent of (once again) mid-period Soilwork and Scar Symmetry. Thankfully, the vocalist has a unique voice that separates himself from his competitors but the usage is almost identical. The clean vocals are not something that is present in every song like it is in some other bands; it’s found on roughly half of the music here, and people who already like it will find it well done and those of you who hated in other bands will still hate it.

What about the supposed At The Gates influences? Much of the bands music has a certain intensity with the Gothenburg half-Thrash mentality to it with very fast drumming and choppy riffs complete with spurts of double bass to enhance the hook factor. Whether you take At The Gates or the bands who have carried on that style (Nightrage, The Haunted on their first CD, Carnal Forge, or Construcdead) the riff and drumming usage is very similar. What I liked about it was they matched the intensity and aggression of most of the above mentioned bands quite nicely and this is helped by ever changing extreme vocals which includes both a deep Death Metal growl and more of a mid-range, traditional Gothenburg style. This may seem simplistic and I suppose it is, but I can’t really think of another band in the style that uses both almost equally. When you mix the “Gothenburg Thrash” sound with the heavy chugging and fast riffing of a band like Scar Symmetry (and to an extent some recent Dark Tranquility) the result is rather pleasing if you’re looking for something that’ll really get your head moving. Of course, this being Melodic Death there are a fair amount of quality solos mixed with the odd usage of theme leads (this isn’t Skydancer after all), and there a few instances of blast beat like drumming with almost tremolo riffing that adds some extra melody (the best example of this being on Stamp Of Credence).

The production, as one can expect from Century Media, is excellent. The mix is off a high quality and the keyboards are usually found in the background, as the rhythm guitar is really in the fore front; with the tone being thick and heavy but also somewhat dirty (it isn’t as clean as Scar Symmetry). When the leads come into play, especially the theme lead as found on Survival Scars, the mix remains good as the lead guitar comes through clear and distinctive from everything else. I’m all for riff heavy music but the contrasting melodies really worked well here and I feel could have been utilized on a more regular basis. Believe it or not, I was most reminded of early Arch Enemy in the lead department (the style and flair of the Amott brothers isn’t there though) as a similar mentality and placement is present.

An extra little thing that Fear My Thoughts like to use are quiet breaks with acoustic styled playing on the electric guitars that they use as breaks or intros to faster sections. Though different in sound than similar things In Flames did on The Jester Race, the atmosphere and mood is there. When used in the middle of songs the flow from aggressive to quiet to aggressive again is smooth and satisfying. You can chalk this up with more leads and more clean vocals as things I’d like to hear the band use more.

Fear My Thoughts are a very talented band that shows us a good degree of dynamics by incorporating two distinct schools of “the Gothenburg sound” with vocals that are ever-changing. The inclusion of keyboards is a nice touch but by no means forms the basis of any song. Aggression, immediacy, and melody (and even some technical wizardry) is present in every song as the band maintains a high degree of consistency throughout. Most of my complaints derive from aspects of the music which could have been expanded on more to further cement the bands own sound. As it stands now we have bands on both sides of spectrum who sound very, very similar in many regards (certain songs may be mistaken for a new Scar Symmetry release). Though the combination surely makes the band a little more distinctive; relying on the chugging, rhythm heavy riffs make many songs sound similar. The band is at their best when they incorporate more melody and atmosphere in between their moments of heavy aggression. I can highly recommend this release to fans of any of the bands mentioned in this review. There are, however, not a lot of (if any really) traditional elements (even by Melodic Death standards) and that may bother some. Also, since the band essentially borrows heavily from specific bands it may put off some who demand more originality. I for one really enjoyed my listens of this CD as there are some legitimately awesome songs and moments (whether it be a riff or melody) that really made me stand up and pay attention. I just wish there was more in the music that gave the band their own identity and this continually bothered me with each listen (since we heard flashes of it, but only flashes). There are many bands (present and past) who more or less copy the Slaughter Of The Soul sound but they normally have some kind of distinct aspect to their music (whether it be the overtly aggressive riffing and catchy without clean vocals of Construcdead, or the core influences of Carnal Forge and early Soilwork), which in the scope of the entire CD is missing here (yes, they incorporate another aspect of what has become the Gothenburg sound but it so blatantly copies/borrows from other bands it almost doesn’t count). The excellent production, song writing, and musicianship sort of make up for this, and for some that’ll be enough, especially those still new to the style. For someone like me, who isn’t new at all to this, I have to say as good as this was I’m more likely to return to CD's that influenced this band than to this specific release; and that is perhaps the best way to describe Fear My Thought’s first release on Century Media.