Rave The Reqviem – Stigmata Itch (Album – Out Of Line)
Genre/Influences: Electro-Metal.
Format: Digital, CD.
Background/Info: “Stigmata Itch” is the fourth full length album by Swedish power band Rave The Reqviem. Driven by the creative spirit of Filip Lönnqvist, the band welcomes a new female vocalist. ‘The Sister Svperior’ already is the band’s third female vocalist since the set up.
Content: A new singer doesn’t necessarily mean a new sound! Rave The Reqviem moves on mixing heavy Metal-driven guitar together with Electronics. From very explicit Metal passages towards bombastic – epic arrangements the songs are all driven by rage and fury. There’s a perfect balance between power and melodies, even resulting in a few more ‘Indie’-like passages (cf. “Colossvs”, “Aerial”). The new female singer sounds like she has always been a member of the band and sounds like the perfect match between her elevating vocals and the enraged shouts of Filip Lönnqvist.
+ + + : There are not many bands in the spirit of Rave The Reqviem; there’re legions of Metal influenced bands, but less mixing this influence together with explicit Electronics. It creates a powerful and melodic harmony with elevating choruses. “Alpha vs. Omega” is a great exposure of this approach. It’s fully representative for this band; powerful, furious and even extreme although accessible. The album moves on where previous productions stopped. This work is the symbiosis between evil forces and heavenly inspiration! I also enjoyed the epic arrangements coming mainly through at “Majordomo”.
– – – : There’s no real innovation in sound and global approach of the production, so Rave The Reqviem starts to become more predictable, but it’s not really a problem as this band rocks!
Conclusion: Rave The Reqviem moves on improving their writing and production while holding on their influences; a great Metal format!
Best songs: “Alpha vs. Omega”, “Holy Homicide”, “Colossvs”, “She Will Weep”.
Rate: (8).
Artist: www.ravethereqviem.com / www.facebook.com/ravethereqviem
Label: www.outofline.de / www.facebook.com/outoflinelabel
About Rave The Reqviem
Rave The Reqviem is a Swedish industrial metal band driven by Filip Lönnqvist, mixing metal guitars with electronics. The band’s 2014 debut album was released through the Japan-based label DWA before the group signed to Out Of Line, which issued the 2018 album “Funeral”.
“Stigmata Itch” is the band’s fourth full length album, recorded at Fascination Street Studios in Sweden and released in December 2020. It introduces The Sister Svperior as the band’s third female vocalist since its formation. Side-Line spoke with the band in a 2017 Click Interview and previously covered the single “Mono Heart” in 2016.
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I have been working for over 30 years with Side-line as the main reviewer. My taste is eclectic, uncoventional and I prefer to look for the pearls, even if the bands are completely unknown, thus staying loyal to the Side-Line philosophy of nurturing new talents.
