Despite leaving the fold in Scar Symmetry, Christian Alvestam is still a very busy guy. Currently working on projects with Miseration, Torchbearer, new outfit Solution .45, and this, The Few Against Many, the man definitely has his plate full. The same can be said for the rest of the band, as everyone here has worked with Alvestam before in various other projects, some of which are the ones listed above. Jani Stefanovic (Miseration, Solution .45, Divinefire, Essence of Sorrow) handles the skin bashing, Par Johannson (Torchbearer) contributes some backing vocals, Patrick Gardberg (Torchbearer) is on lead guitar, Anders Edlund (Solar Dawn, Solution .45, Incapacity, Angel Blake) twiddles the bass, and Christian himself takes on lead vocals and rhythm guitar.

With lyrics in all Swedish, The Few Against Many (TFAM) will be a tough sell to most, but this is death metal – it doesn’t really matter much. Mr. Alvestam sticks to his tremendous death metal roar and growl here, refraining from any clean vocals. This is a much more straight forward and less saccharine offering than Scar Symmetry, but as with most of the guys projects, there’s a twist – there’s a good deal of orchestration wove into the mix, providing some atmospherics, but not overpowering the songs.

Embracing a mostly Stockholm-ish sound, TFAM occasionally tread into the waters of thrash or the more melodic, depending on the song. “Blod” for example hops around a bit, at one moment led by synths, then at another locking into sturdy death metal groove or speedy thrash break, all of which can be skirted with bits of orchestration. The title track fades in with rapid double bass, a melodic lead and backed by light synths, then breaks into a blast beat filled verse accompanied by eerie orchestration which makes for a nice combo. “Abider”, “Hadanfard” and “Heresi” all rumble along with a more straight forward approach, but include some melodic bits as well.

The end result may not be the best thing these chaps have done, but if nothing else it’s solid and enjoyable. This has the mark of Christian Alvestam and all over it, but it still manages to be pretty unique, thanks mostly to the orchestration – you won’t confuse TFAM with Unmoored, Incapacity or Torchbearer. Alvestam fans are sure to eat it up, and is still recommended to anyone who digs on any kind of Swedish Death Metal.

[Visit the band's website]

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