Soulless "Agony's Lament" CD
[Crash]
I had been wanting to check out this Cleveland band for awhile now, if for no other reason than their drummer is Chris Dora (formerly of Integrity, Ringworm, Decrepit, etc.), and this is some pretty damn good death/thrash with an old school sense of aggression and a modern sense of tactful melody (definitely leaning towards the harder side of the Scandinavian persuasion). Right off the bat I'll say that the vocals are mixed unfortunately far out front, which takes me a few songs to adjust to and is a hindrance, but the songwriting is definitely good stuff. There's a good mix of tempo, generally hitting on moderate to fast picking patterns with a lot of note-based riffing rather than power chord structures. Nice harmonies are also employed, never going over the top with the melody. Some of the solos are a bit too Pantera for me, I'm more into the melodic lead runs than the rocked out bends and filters, which don't fit the style of their music at all. I definitely like that they tend to keep the songs right around three minutes, though. It keeps the energy moving and doesn't really allow time for the record to drag. As for the recording, the bass is there, the drums sound pretty good as far as packing a punch and not jumping out too much, and the guitar tone is good but could use some tightening up. I'd definitely turn down the vocals and give it some more bass, but other than that they're doing pretty good as is. As with many Crash releases I'm not so into the visual presentation. The cover art is alright, it fits the album title and musical style I suppose. But there is too much wasted space in the booklet on thanks lists, unnecessary band photos and blank space, repeating of the tracklist and such... I don't know. You can probably guess as to the content of the lyrics, "Amassing from the dawn of time, this evil horde unleashed, To avenge the pride of a god despised and endless treacheries, Forsaken man cast aside by this unmoved god of pride, A worthy feast of fallen souls an eternity denied!" minor setbacks aside, this band could really do some serious damage. I'd actually like to hear them with a vocalist whose style is a bit deeper and perhaps not so typical these days, but a slightly better mix and minor tweaks to the writing would leave these guys hacking through some wicked thrash. If your ears aren't as picky as mine I'd suggest looking into this if you're down for some tasteful death/thrash that respects its roots without living in the past. (6/10)
Running time - 33:47, Tracks: 10
[Notable tracks: Agonies, Empty Deadness, Exile]
Crash Music - http://www.crashmusicinc.com

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