The Way Of Purity - Crosscore

The Way of Purity have been on my radar for a while now, but I've only just sat down and checked them out recently. They are a Norwegian extreme metal band with strong and true animal rights views and are bringing a serious message to fans of their music, rather than just building an image for the sake of it. They are made up of Tiril Skardel on Vocals, Bassist Without Name, Guitarist Jeffrey, Guitarist/Keyboardist Deathwish and Wod on Drums.

Crosscore is their 2010 debut full length and it's a very varied album. At the heart of are the vocals of Tiril Skardel, who's raspy growl is similar to that of Arch Enemy's Angela Gossow, not that there is any comparison, as TWOP show their vision and musicianship to great effect and help them to stand up alongside any major extreme metal band around. The majority of the instrumentation is fast and almost militaristic at times, but the band to include electronic touches, thanks to keyboard player Deathwish, to give their music a more industrialised edge.

TWOP switch between faster, more brutal instrumentation and slower doomier passages to good effect, with a great modern production helping to emphasise their individual instruments. TWOP also employ a wide range of influences and sounds within their music, illustrated by fourth track The Rise of Noah, including singing, in the song which was written by their keyboard player. They also show they have a sense of melody, with passages in fifth track Loyal Breakdown of Souls, with poppier passages not sounding out of place amongst their heavier undertones. They also use differing time signatures and technical guitar to add further weight to the record and to make sure they don't lose the attention of the listener.

Overall, they prove that by being open to different elements and experimentation, it is possible for an extreme metal band to be both accessible and brutal, without compromising their message. Crosscore is a great listen from a band who are breaking the mould and not being led by any trends except the one's they create!

Make sure you check out and like The Way of Purity on their Facebook page  at http://www.facebook.com/#!/thewayofpurity and via Myspace at http://www.myspace.com/thewayofpurity#!/thewayofpurity.

They also have a page of Last FM at http://www.last.fm/TheWayofPurity and an entry on Metal Archives at http://www.metal-archives.com/band/TheWayofPurity. Check these out as well.

TWOP are currently writing and recording the follow up to Crosscore, which I can't wait for. They are currently signed to record label - Wormholedeath. Go check them out at http://www.wormholedeath.com.