MOMENTUM is a three piece Metal band based out of Iceland. According to their webpage, "the music of Momentum cannot be pinned down to a single description. To each his own. The music speaks in different ways to the audience, and that is exactly how we want it. Although we are a Metal band, that is in no way descriptive of the music as it explores so much more." The band has released an album of demos, and two EPs. This is the second full length release containing nine tracks.

"Burn The Eyes Once Gold" has a loose, breathing aggression that you notice right off the bat. The vocals are very much Death or Black Metal style, but there is an underlying use of just the proper amount melody at just the right time. There is also some significant shifts in pace and riffs, and interconnecting interludes of clean vocal passages. "Between Two Worlds" enters more cautiously, and with a strong Doom feeling. Death vocals connect at a later point in the downtrodden sounding chorus. As the track culminates towards the end, I feel a strong KATATONIA type of sound. Though a short lived track, "Familiar Unknown" carries a poignant melody in the harmony of the vocals, allowing the instrumentation to be minimal in order to carry this out. I found this song very easy to connect with, and played it many times. "Gauntlet" has a slow, despondent sound and a regal quality in the vocals. I picture this song being played at the execution of a King at the surprise of his rival. The backbone of the song is very stalwart, and stands in the opposition of any questioning. The title track, "The Freak is Alive," definitely leaves you with a feeling of condemnation with the statement of the song title, whereas "A Beast Is Near" has a bit more bounce to its message. The vocals are very sterile in the verses but take on a yearning quality during the chorus. It all culminates towards the end in a crescendo of foreshadowing. "Creator of Malignant Metaphors" has a swifter pace and more instrumentation, as the Death vocals make an ardent return. Another sublime interlude connects more with the Progressive leanings of the album. "Undercover Imagination" sways with some more intention but remains very forlorn. Closing the album is the song "Depth of the Whole." I find this track to be more exploratory in nature but still retaining the core sound presented here. The rumbling vocals hit at the heart of deepness.

Overall, I find this album to be intriguing and interestingly unique. Odd, but marked emotional peaks and an underlying tone of Doom and Prog that run throughout the album's tracks. I think you could categorize it broadly as Doom Metal but I also feel the band is correct in their assertion that different listeners will garner their own experience from the music.