Review by Felix on January 1, 2023.

What's wrong with Suicidal Winds that there are almost no reviews for their outputs? As always, I have no idea. Perhaps the hordes of competitors leave no air to breath for the Swedes. That's a pity, because an album like "Wrath of God" does not deserve to be completely ignored. It is not a milestone, I freely admit this. Nevertheless, one needs such albums in order to recognize the difference between a good work and a real milestone. Indeed, "Wrath of God" is a good album.

Sometimes, but only in very rare cases, the dose of pressure, hate and anger is simply too much and levels the dynamic of music. Suicidal Winds are prone to the temptation to deliver too much hate. Luckily, the apostles of nastiness mostly take the last exit before confusion. Thus, they fire eleven cannon shots into the (unfortunately non-existing) crowd that unite elements of black and death metal in more or less equal proportions. The drummer has sworn to destroy everything and his kit becomes his first victim, the bass guitar - to say it politely - does not appear too often, the guitars despise any form of beauty or softness and the vocalist has obviously very often listened to "No More Mr. Nice Guy". Well done, Alice Cooper, you useful idiot of the industry. While the instrumentalists crush the world of harmony, Mathias "Rrööaar" Johansson lives up to his moniker. Throaty and powerful, without an ounce of melody, that's the way he likes it. The result are some little genre gems.

Each and every track reaches a more than solid level, but one cannot ignore that some of them fail to deliver sustainable features. They do not keep sticking in the mind and therefore they provide a very brief pleasure. Yet tunes such as "Serpent Lord of the Apocalypse" rub salt in the wounds of every poser (cannot forget this old school term) in view of their stormy, yet minimalist catchy riffing, its merciless solo and the high, impressive energy level. Compactness meets coherence during a very vehement storm with the effect that the slightly demonic aura of this number does not come as a surprise. The intensity of "Evils Eternal Power", in particular caused by its dominating double-bass sections, is almost second to none. A late highlight is constituted by "Traitors Perish in Flames" in view of its hellish smoothness. But do not confuse smooth with soft in this context. Due to the fact that technical refinement is of total irrelevance, the Scandinavians put all their eggs into one basket - and "brutality" stands on its label. Is this boring, one-dimensional and trivial? Well, I think it is a legitimate approach and with regard to the brevity of the compositions, nobody will be bored.

Production-wise, Suicidal Winds have made good use of their options. The sound is broadly differentiated, powerful and spreads some dark vibrations. The guitars are not extremely low tuned and Johansson is not the typical death metal growler. Nevertheless, the black elements do not gain the upper hand, inter alia because of the fact that the sheer aggression kills a black metal compatible amount of atmosphere. Anyway, it would be nice if anybody could tell me what is wrong with Suicidal Winds. I am not able to figure it out.

Rating: 7.7 out of 10

Review by Krys on January 30, 2001.

When I heard WT’s first album "Enter" I said, "they’ll become big one day." I didn’t expect it would be so soon. Within Temptation has managed to deliver something that only a few bands were able to accomplish in such a short time since the bands’ inception date.

"Mother Earth" is such a huge step forward that comparing this album with their previous release is almost impossible. Well, I’m a brave man, so I’ll try. Everything that was good in "Enter" has been honed to excellence on this album. By adding female and male choirs, full blown orchestra with brass sections and dropping the growl vocals, they created an intensely special listening experience that it makes you close your eyes and fly away to a paradise. The band’s dreamy melodies, heavy guitars and Sharon’s dramatically improved vocal lines make me want to listen to it over and over again. Throughout the whole album WT jets from fast tempo compositions like "Ice Queen" or "Dark Wings" that stick in your head for days to dreamy ballads like "Our Farewell" or "The Promise" which are so romantic and touchy that could squeeze a tear from a rock. OK, maybe you won’t cry but on this record I found a lot of lyrics that I could relate to on a very personal level.

Add outstanding production with special CD-ROM that includes the extra song "World Of Make Believe", pictures, the band’s info and videos you have what I call a masterpiece disc.

I remember when some people were pissing me off by comparing them to Theatre Of Tragedy, The Gathering and so on. Within Temptation’s "Mother Earth" is such a brilliant piece of work that both bands whish they had it in their own discography. Amen!

Rating: 10 out of 10