Albums that are considered part of extreme metal don't necessarily receive that label because of the music itself; in some cases, the vocals are the only thing that make the disc relevant to extreme metal (be it death metal or black metal).

Dark Age's Acedia is a such an album; the thing that gives this late 2009 release some extreme metal appeal isn't the music per se but rather, the lead vocals -- that is, some of the lead vocals.

Acedia is one of the many 21st century metal outings that favors an extreme vocals/clean vocals contrast; lead singer Eike Freese handles the clean vocals as convincingly as he handles the extreme vocals, which are essentially death metal growling with hints of a black metal rasp at times.

But take away the extreme vocals, and you're left with a highly melodic album that -- for all its intensity and aggression -- has more to do with alternative metal than death metal.

These German headbangers have often been described as melodic death metal, but musically, Acedia is more alt-metal than anything.

Although many of the recordings that are considered melodic death metal have a strong power metal influence, the riffs and moody, dark melodies on Acedia have strong alt-metal leanings à la Fear Factory.

But one thing that Acedia definitely has in common with the more power metal-influenced releases in melodic death metal is a strong desire to be both nuanced and forceful.

Dark Age don't govern by brute force alone on Acedia; in fact, metalheads who aren't into the really harsh and unforgiving death metal and black metal coming out of Europe (especially the Scandinavian countries) will find Acedia to be a lot more accessible.

Some death metal purists might complain that this 44-minute CD is really just alt-metal with some growling; be that as it may, Dark Age's blend of the intense and the musical yields consistently likable results on Acedia.