Review by JD on March 31, 2011.

Now and then, I end up feeling equally confused and intrigued by an act that comes to me. I find myself at this point with a Norwegian one man band called Weh... confusion. This is very unusual, indeed.

Using only acoustic guitars (twelve and six string) sometimes a bass or synthesizers in the background - this single solitary man (sometimes with a few friends) makes what I would like to coin Satanic Folk music. Sort of like if you mixed the darkness of Bathory with an odd musical adaptation of Bob Dylan and flower children. Oddly artistic... is still not metal, but
amazingly this is pretty good when you get down to it.

"Origins" is not everyone’s cup of tea, but Erik E makes it work with demonic ease. With haunting simpleness and hades induced lyrics that creeps into your mind it is a travel down the river Styx and through the seven gates of hell. It is not metal but it is good. Songs like the haunting 'Ruin' to the acoustic power of 'The Grave', this double disk is packed with Black Metal power without the metal.

I like these disks, but I do not love them. As a musician, I see the amazing levels of talent in them, but the music lacks that certain power that metal has, so this is lost from the start. I would recommend "Origins", as a background music at a Halloween party. It will summon things from the depth of hell... if this was metal, I would give "Origins" a perfect 10.

A word of suggestion to Erik E from me: consider redoing all of this music with electric guitars, bass and drums and summon the power of metal. You have the talent, use the right medium to do it.

Categorical Rating Breakdown

Musicianship: 9
Atmosphere: 5
Production: 5
Originality: 9
Overall: 6

Rating: 6.8 (all of this for the talent, not the metal aspect)

Review by Adam M on January 23, 2011.

This album has both melody and hardcore elements come together for an interesting mix. The music by Bleeding Utopia is abrasive and up front in nature. It recalls the likes of At The Gates or Dark Tranquillity in its style. The music rolls along at a reasonable tempo and doesn’t really stick out or ever become overly dry either. The song 'A Life’s Decay' is a highlight with injected melody. The album closes on a good note altogether, with the last couple of tracks standing out from the pack.

The problem with the disc is that it doesn’t sound incredibly professional. There are only four tracks, they all have slightly inferior production values and the sound is limited. Thankfully the hardcore influences don’t take over too much giving the album some strength to be appreciated as a Melodic Death Metal release. It has enough groove at times to be somewhat catchy, but again nothing makes a huge impression. The biggest draws here are certainly the intensity the band portrays and the melodic vibe that shows up from time to time. There really isn’t anything to elevate the album from being average at best, however, and taking the limited playing time into account, there is definitely much room for improvement in the future.

Bleeding Utopia have some good moments, but need to bring their music to a higher level if they want to compete with bigger metal bands. Their "2010 Promo" gets progressively better which is good sign that perhaps the band will only get progressively better in the future as well. As it stands their music has highs and lows and is a mixed bag overall. It’s also hard to judge an album that’s only four songs long, so I took that into account when giving a score.

Categorical Rating Breakdown

Musicianship: 6.5
Atmosphere: 6.5
Production: 6
Originality: 6.5
Overall: 6.5

Rating: 6.4 out of 10