Let's head back down to Sarajevo now, where one of the oldest metal bands in the country has been plying their trade since 1986, which means of course that when they got together their country was still known as Yugoslavia. During the wars of the early 1990s both their original drummer and guitarist lost their lives as the country fragmented into smaller ones, but as of 2010 they were still going and have released six albums in that time, not a lot perhaps but given the backdrop against which they lived that's really not bad.
Ima li života prije smrti --- Bombarder --- 2010 (Metal Warning)
They sing in their native tongue --- or not in English anyway --- so don't expect any deep exploration or discussion of their lyrics. There's certainly a big, dark, dramatic opening to the album and I guess given their (almost) WWII name you could say it might be meant to represent a bomber over Berlin or whatever, but there's certainly a lot of moody synth and bouncy, echoey drums as the first track, “Uvod” gets going. There are no lyrics (whereas there are for all the rest) so I'm assuming it's an instrumental. Again, keyboards are not mentioned but come on: there must be a keysman in there! Choral vocals too (synthesised or not I don't know) and we're into “Gubavi kralj” which opens with a high, striding guitar before it picks up and rocks all over the place. Kind of speed metal really: galloping drums, racing guitars and a vocal which, while harsh, is not a death growl.
Nenad Kovačević has a good tone to his voice, not too screechy and not too growly, while on the axes Gvozden Racić ,Jakša Vlahović and Rastko Ličina present a triple attack that works pretty well. Into “Rane” and the pace doesn't slacken, with a big fast guitar intro that then gives way to vocals only supported by drums before the guitars crash back in again. “Sve lodosti ovoga svijeta” starts off a bit slower and more grindy but then quickly picks up, exhibiting some fine solos though with three guitarists I couldn't tell you who's playing them. “Armija mraka” does sort of the same thing, starting off crushing and slow but it doesn't stay that way for long, exploding into another fast rocker with a good vocal from Kovačević.
And so it goes. I mean, it's a decent, solid metal album but I'm not seeing anything terribly different in this that I haven't heard from a hundred metal bands all over the world. There's nothing to distinguish it from the herd, unlike Emir Hot. And before you say oh yeah that's because they're progressive metal: you love your progressive metal don't you, well yes it is but apart from that, they had the ethnic instrumentation, the keyboard soundscapes, the choral vocals and the vocal harmonies, all of which went to make their music a lot more memorable and left me with a better and more lasting impression of them. With Bombarder, all I'm getting is just another metal band who, if they were not from Bosnia and I not exploring that country's metal landscape, I would not be bothered with.
I'd like to hear something different, another side to this band. Sure, I don't know the language and so while their lyrics could be totally amazing and allow them to stand out, I don't have the luxury of concentrating on those, so can't critique them and have to go with the music and what I can hear. What I can hear is, overall, pretty generic. Even some sort of ballad, an acoustic number, anything would be a change. I know in metal you pretty much get what you get, but even so, many metal bands are able to be varied and interesting and this, well, isn't. Not so far anyway.
There's a nice kind of hard boogie to “Ka proposti”, and it has a truly excellent guitar solo in it, almost right at the end before it literally explodes and hits into “Tunel”, and with the final track being a cover of Niflheim's “Sodomizer” I'm assuming we're not slowing down until the end.
TRACKLISTING
1. Uvod
2. Gubavi kralj
3. Rane
4. Sve lodosti ovoga svijeta
5. Armija mraka
6. Ja hodam u svakoj sjeni
7. Duše miliona
8. Mržnja i patnja
9. Ka proposti
10. Tunel
11. Sodomizer
Yeah, to be honest, as the last track played out the doorbell went and I nipped down to answer it, not even bothering to stop the playback. I knew what to expect. It's all good, but just not great. You have to give Bombarder respect for being perhaps the oldest metal band in Bosnia (according to my very limited research anyway), but then bands can exist for decades and yet be as stale as anything. This band does not make me want to explore any of their other material, and to be honest, I'm a little disappointed as I had expected bigger things from the band who appear to be the virtual godfathers of Bosnian heavy metal.
Sorry guys: on that note, it's an offer I very much can refuse.