From Below – I Arise

From Below

I Arise

by Alexander Naylor at 09 June 2015, 7:00 PM

On the 25^th of April 2015 the Norwegian death metal band FROM BELOW released their first EP “I Arise”. The vocalist of FROM BELOW, Sune, has a vocal style that isn’t commonly used by most death metal bands. He incorporates the more metalcore ‘guttural scream’ used by vocalists such as Randy Blythe and Rafał Piotrowski which is quite refreshing after listening to the same vocal style day after day. This EP starts out with a very strong track, “I Arise”, which sounds like the result of LAMB OF GOD and DECAPITATED having some kind of musical lovechild. Safe to say, this track is a fan favourite when it comes to live shows due to the heavy riff-filled verses. The guitar work is absolutely superb in this track with groovy riffs throughout along with the occasional pinch harmonic and some great melody work.

This superb level of musicianship continues until the third track, “Indoctrination” which is my least favourite track on the EP. It is fairly weak in comparison to the other tracks as the riffs are fairly bland and generic but it does have a great solo which redeems it somewhat. “The Howling Sermon” definitely brings the bar back up to the level of the first 2 tracks with the headbang-worthy riffs and aggressive vocals. “Our Last Waltz” is more thrashy in nature and sounds like something KREATOR would have brought out in their heyday with its violently fast guitars and double bass drums. The EP is brought to a brilliant close with “The Pyramid” which is the longest track on the EP but is intricate enough to keep the listener’s attention. Overall, this EP is exceptional for a first EP and is definitely some of the best material I’ve heard from a new band in quite a while. This band is going to be big, mark my words.