IN YOUR MULTITUDE

My appreciation for Conception diminished with their gradual slide into more straightforward power-metal domains. After a surprising debut and disappointing second, the band again opted for classic verse-chorus/guitarsolo metal on their third album.

The choruses are obviously meant to engage every single fan into a big sing-along. I always find those anthemic metal choruses to be something of a tour the force really. You should give it a try: go banging your head, heave your right hand up in the horn sign and hold 3 beers in your left while you queue for a hotdog at the hamburger-stall. Believe me, that takes years of practice!

Right, you get the image, catchy pounding metal at hand. And Conception does the trick very skilfully, with generally strong song material. There's little variation. Just like on the previous album the greatest variance is obtained by altering the tempo between fast and mid-paced tunes. The song quality is much higher then on the previous album though. Only Carnal Comprehension and Solar Serpent legs a bit behind the other songs, or maybe it is just that I've kind of had my fill after half an hour of metal by the numbers.

For a band with such musical competence, I sure miss some audacity in the compositions, the melodies and musicianship are good but unimaginative, predictable and a bit old-school from a 2010 perspective, Conception played it too safe. In Your Multitude is a good album but will hardly impress anyone outside the fan base.