THE FALLEN DIVINE is a five piece band that comes from the frozen north and specifically from Oslo, Norway. The Norwegians play Progressive extreme Metal and "The Binding Cycle" is their debut album. The band already released a three track EP named "The Eternal Past and Future" which contains songs which appeared also in the debut album either changed or unchanged. "Replenished" is the same, though "Shades of Oppression" appeared as "The Eternal" on the EP.

The songs have a progressive structure with lots of changes, hard parts; soft parts though do not expect crazy tempo patterns like 13/16. The songs remind me a bit of OPETH and DARK TRANQUILLITY. Especially Kvist's vocals remind of Mikael Stanne with a sore throat. The production is good but I would say gives a neutral feeling and was handled by the famous shredder Andy LaRoque. The songs didn't build on me except from some heavy parts and most of the acoustic passages. Plus Kvist's vocals were really annoying in some songs (i.e. "Shades of Oppression")...

As with all the bands that make their first attempt it is crucial that they have a solid record to offer. Of course, it is also a matter of the recording company's promotion and media perception but what the hell, if the record is killer it is killer and that what counts in the end of the day. "The Binding Cycle" is not that kind of record that will manage to differentiate from the rest of the bands of the same kind. At least it didn't make any impression to me.