Måsstaden

Måsstaden
Studio album by Vildhjarta
Released 28 November 2011
Genre Progressive metal, groove metal, dark ambient
Length 51:31
Label Century Media[1]
Producer Daniel Bergström
Vildhjarta chronology

Omnislash
(2009)		 Måsstaden
(2011)		 Thousands of Evils
(2013)
Professional ratings
Review scores
Source Rating
About.com [2]
Metal Injection (Positive)[3]
Metal Underground [4]
Sputnik Music [5]
Ultimate Guitar [6]

Måsstaden is the debut album of the Swedish progressive metal band Vildhjarta. Released on 28 November 2011[7] , the album peaked at 37 on the Top Heatseekers chart.[8] This was the first release to feature new vocalist Vilhelm Bladin and the last release to feature founding member and third guitarist Jimmie Åkerström, before he was asked to leave the band in 2012. Åkerström was never replaced and thus left Vildhjarta without a third guitarist since his leaving.

Track listing

No. Title Length
1. "Shadow"   3:39
2. "Dagger"   4:26
3. "Eternal Golden Monk"   3:52
4. "Benblåst"   3:14
5. "Östpeppar"   1:56
6. "Traces"   6:13
7. "Phobon Nika"   2:54
8. "Måsstadens Nationalsång"   0:47
9. "When No One Walks with You"   3:19
10. "All These Feelings"   6:53
11. "Nojja"   1:42
12. "Deceit"   5:09
13. "The Lone Deranger"   7:27
Total length:
 51:31
Pre-order Bonus Track
No. Title Length
14. "To Be Continued"   3:51
Total length:
 55:22
iTunes Bonus Tracks
No. Title Length
15. "All for the Sake"   1:57
16. "Of Others"   3:00
Total length:
 1:00:19

Reception

The album received generally positive critical reviews. Natalie Zed of About.com gave the album 3.5/5 and said that "For fans of djent, this is definitely an album to pay attention to", describing the instrumentation as "dense as a forest of thorns, the songs are constructed in such a way that the listener has room to explore, to wander, and to eventually get lost and caught within the sound." Nina Saeidi writing for Metal Injection was very positive about the album, and concluded that "Måsstaden is stunningly beautiful and filled with a dark energy that is often hard to find in the copycat genre in which Vildhjarta are boundary pushers. This album is perfect for those in need of a fast and furious djent fix with the occasional unexpected interlude that will take you by surprise."

While Metal Underground were still on the whole positive about the album, they were critical that "for as good as the music is, Vildhjarta don't do much to step out of the shadow of their main inspiration, making comparisons to Meshuggah at times a bit too accurate", though they concluded the review by saying "“Masstaden” is a good album from a new band that's more of a taste of what's to come, rather than a fully evolved sound. The clean vocals on "Traces" are a promising sign and hopefully, with time, Vildhjarta will evolve into something much greater. They have the talent; it's now just whether or not they have the creativity."

Personnel

Vildhjarta

  • Daniel Ädel – vocals
  • Vilhelm Bladin - vocals
  • Daniel Bergström - guitar
  • Calle Thomer - guitar
  • Jimmie Åkerström - guitar
  • Johan Nyberg - bass
  • David Lindkvist - drums

Production

  • Jens Bogren - mastering
  • Lance Grabmiller - additional production
  • Jared Howe - additional production
  • Sebastian Krawczuk - additional production
  • Rickard Westman - album art

References

  1. ↑ "Allmusic page". Retrieved September 14, 2013.
  2. ↑ Zed, Natalie. "about.com review". Retrieved September 14, 2013.
  3. ↑ Saeidi, Nina (December 8, 2011). "Metal Injection review". Retrieved September 14, 2013.
  4. ↑ Dasher10 (January 10, 2012). "Metal Underground review". Retrieved September 14, 2013.
  5. ↑ "Sputnik Music review". 29 November 2011. Retrieved 13 August 2012.
  6. ↑ "Ultimate Guitar review". June 6, 2012. Retrieved 13 August 2012.
  7. ↑ "Century Media album page". Retrieved September 14, 2013.
  8. ↑ "Allmusic awards page". Retrieved September 14, 2013.