MENACE AND PRAYER

"Menace And Prayer" is the debut full-length studio album by Finnish death metal act Throne of Chaos. The album was released through Spikeform Records in 2000.

The music on "Menace And Prayer" is very melodic heavy metal/death metal in the vein of Children of Bodom. I will actually go as far as to say that the music on "Menace And Prayer" is almost a complete clone of Children of Bodom´s music. The vocals are raw/raspy, the music is dominated by melodic guitars and keyboard leads and the rythm section is close to power metal style playing. Being a clone don´t always mean that the music is bad though and in the case of the music on "Menace And Prayer" we´re treated with some really well written compositions, great musicianship and a powerful sound production. A very enjoyable album if you like the style.

Despite the obvious Children of Bodom influences in the music I will rate "Menace And Prayer" with a 3 star (60%) rating. Simply because the quality level is as high as it is. But don´t expect much else than a good clone of Children of Bodom and you won´t be disappointed.

After their impressive album Loss Angeless, I decided to explore the rest of the T.O.C. discography!

And my surprise was big when I heard Menace and Prayer. This is not the refined and adventurous prog metal epic of their third (and last) album, but an specimen of melodic death metal much in the vein of Children of Bodom, Karma and similar acts.

The production is fine and the guitars sharp enough, with tons of keyboards layers and fine melodies. However, after a pair of songs, the album becomes a bit repetitive being hard to tell which track is playing, because every song included here is very similar in style, power and tonality.

Nevertheless, if you are into this kind of music you will surely enjoy the talent of this fine Finnish metal band.

Best tracks: From Clarity to Insanity (good opener), Synthetia (I especially like the guitar melodies in this one) and Divanity (maybe the best songwriting of the whole album)

Conclusion: Loss Angeless, the third album of this band is a hidden and unfairly forgotten prog-metal record. However, the origins of this band were very different with Menace and Prayer, which is a good symphonic death metal album with beautiful keyboards arrangements, sharp guitars, fierce vocals and powerful drumming.

Not for everyone, but if you miss the old Nordic melodic death metal of the 90's, you will have a blast with this album!

My rating: ***