Evemaster "Wither" CD
[Crash]
This Finnish duo plays melodic metal with that contemporary death metal edge of sneering vocals and tons of dual guitar harmonies, adding in some extra atmosphere with session musicians handling synths and clean vocals. A lot of the harmonies have an Iron Maiden thing going on, but played in a way that's closer to the whole melodic Swedish style, and the vocals can at times bear an uncanny resemblance to Tomas Lindberg's. It's not original material, and I don't like the singing or the keyboards because all they do is cloud things up without really adding anything of value to the songs, but it's not bad. It's a little bland, but they do write some great harmonies and general riffs that help carry the listen along. "Harvest Skies" uses a few acoustic passages and lead singing vocals, but it really sticks out a lot and sounds terrible compared to the other tracks, I don't know... it hurts. The last track is a cover of Tarot's "Wings of Darkness", and it's not bad, really. The recording's okay. I really like the guitar tone because it's nice and full with enough clarity to really let the harmonies ring. But the bass tends to get lost, and the drums are on the clicky side. I think the drums are even in the mix so I can live with that, and the vocals are the standard (maybe slightly loud), so... at least they place the keyboards back in the distance, which is where they need to be to avoid distractions. The layout isn't that great, but it could be worse. The actual photography is alright, but the arrangement is really tacky and looks more like a self-released CD from a young band, because there are way too many ugly typefaces used, and they sort of cram text in everywhere. The lyrics are bleak and have lots of typical references in them: "The black curtain falls like a drapery at the end of the act..." or "Autumn fire burns in the woods, Season of withering has come again..." The tone of the words is alright, but I could do without such generic passages. I like some of these songs, and a few of the riffs are fucking excellent. I don't know what's holding the album down as a whole, aside from the keyboards being sort of a hassle... but they could do some great work if they keep at it. Who knows? (5/10)
Running time - 47:40, Tracks: 9
[Notable tracks: Stars - Serenity - Burning, As I Turn Away]
Crash Music - http://www.crashmusic.com

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