( Progressive Metal) Divided Multitude - Коллекция 4 CD ( 1999 - 2013 ), FLAC (image+.cue), lossless

Sindre Antonsen - vocals and guitars
Christer Haroy - guitars and backing vocals
Eskild Kloften - keyboards and backing vocals
Rayner Haroy - bass
Olav Skei - drums
******
Adne Rokkum - cello, acoustic guitars and backing vocals
Dag Erik Oksvoll, Jan Ove Berdahl, Silivia Melum - backing vocals

Sindre Antonsen - vocals
Christer Haroy - guitars and backing vocals
Eskild Kloften - keyboards and backing vocals
Rayner Haroy - bass
Olav Skei - drums
******
Audun Eggen - backing vocals

The last couple of melodic progressive metal albums sent my way have been great, with Aspera's magnificent "Ripples" leading the way as one of the most memorable albums I've heard in the genre. The next prog metal band whose head is on our review plate is Divided Multitude, who have been around for fifteen years, but they've only released two full lengths prior to putting out "Guardian Angel" a couple of weeks ago. The band took an extended break due to some differences, but those have now been solved and for the last year and a half, "Guardian Angel" has been in the works. If the crystal clear and crisp soundscape from the player below sounds familiar, yes, Jacob Hansen has been behind the mixing board turning the knobs to near-perfection, which is why the guitars sound so tight and the drums sound like they were being played in your living room.

Soundwise, Divided Multitude don't differ much from your typical melodic progressive metal outfit. The soundscapes are full of grandeur and intelligent instrumentation, and a heavy metal style clean vocalist roars above a semi-symphonic platform defined by synths and organs. It doesn't take long to notice the parallels to Aspera because of how strong and memorable this band's melodies are (see especially "My Dying Hour", which is astonishing), and perhaps also Sinamore because of the slight strain in vocalist Antonsen's delivery. There's some sad melancholia in many of the atmospheres, but the band doesn't shy away from firing away in melodeath-type riffs occasionally. Of course, the power metal sound's always going to be relevant in prog metal albums like this, but the reason why Divided Multitude impress me instead of bore me (like so many of their peers) can be found in the healthy desire to combine these three genres together into a tightly wound, melodic package.

While "Guardian Angel" isn't going to be the best album in the prog metal genre, it's definitely worth checking out if you're a fan of the style. There's so much pretentious shit out there that whenever you get a band like Divided Multitude releasing an album that deviates even a little bit with better melodies and songwriting, they stick out like a sore thumb - in a good way. If you find the thought of Aspera mish-mashing with Sinamore intriguing, check out "Guardian Angel" now.

RockFreaks

Sindre Antonsen - vocals
Christer Harøy - guitars and backing vocals
Eskild Kløften - keyboards and backing vocals
Rayner Harøy - bass
Anders Vinje - drums
******
Tom Christian Engelsøy - additional backing vocals
Tommy Sebastian Halseth - additional backing vocals on 7

This fifth album for the underground Norwegian Prog / Power Metal kings starts with a short Flamenco guitar and compass handclap pattern intro named “Esperanto”, luckily DIVIDED MULTITUDE will quickly manage to change everything soon with a real Metal riff and a double kick onslaught, they set the power to maximum heaviness mixed with sheer elegance, indeed since then the remaining 10 tracks on the album are pretty sharp with furious drums and almost Thrashy rhythmic guitars but moderated with ultra-catchy vocals in the real Scandinavian method. I like to think of them about as an heaviest version of CIRCUS MAXIMUS (“What I See”), applicant of a few hyper challenging Melodic motifs with a stunning Schizophrenic vocal rendition, indeed Mr. Sindre Antonsen alternates brilliantly between "testo-tenroic" multi layered singing like Jekyll & Hyde, in the great PRETTY MAIDS & Ronnie Atkins tradition with a two-faced styled that switch from velvet to sandpaper in the same sentence.

Of course all the players are ultra-competent, Christer Harøy (PS: his other band with his brother Rayner called TEODOR TUFF is also warmly recommended by yours truly) is a solid guitar player but stay quite discrete leaving much room to another essential strong element in their sound: the fantastic yet subtle Eskild Kløften, who provides some fine effective performance in multipl(a)ying synthetic ambient waves & Progressive Rock keyboards.

In this genre the songwriting should be uselessly complicated, well it’s not exactly the case with “Feed On Your Misery”, but don’t get me wrong please, there is plenty of weird or cerebral moments as some strange structures mixed with passionate and luxurious arrangements quite rich in complexity with an average over six minutes in length without never sounding hermetic or rigid.

The smartest cuts like the title track “Feed On Your Misery”, the delicious “Crimson Sunset” or the dark “Vicious By Heart” are also pretty much influenced by early QUEENSRYCHE or CRIMSON GLORY with some modernized vocals taken from the inherent omnipresent obvious reference while speaking about Prog Metal singer, the soulful, the one, the only: Sir Russell Allen (SYMPHONY X / ADRENALINE MOB) himself (“Scars”).

Finally, the best comparison could have been PAGAN’S MIND meets ANUBIS GATE meets CONCEPTION. I already said it, I will say it again: “Feed On Your Misery” by DIVIDED MULTITUDE, that’s Scandinavian Melodic Prog at its Best.

Eskild Kløften - Keyboards
Sindre Antonsen - Vocals, Guitars
Rayner Harøy - Bass
Christer Harøy - Guitars (lead)