Here we have four relatively quick tracks of fierce death/thrash from Finland that tend to revolve around speedy picking patterns and lightly Swedish sounding riffs (though nothing that gets too melodic) with chugging rhythmic breaks and caustic Slayer-esque soloing, while snarling screams deliver the lyrics. "Higher Art of Bleeding" drops one unexpected midpaced break with more of a deep, shouted vocal approach; but "Unleashed" is probably my favorite track in terms of its balance between tempos, but there's a definite sense of catchy energy that never lets up in this one as well, certainly reminiscent of The Crown at their best, in my opinion. The recording's a little bit raw, but they're on the right track. It sounds better than average for a demo, but were they preparing to release a proper full-length they'd definitely want to try and smooth over some of the rough spots. The vocals sound pretty good, and the drums are alright, but I'm not really making out the basslines, and the guitars should probably be thicker and possess more of a fluid crunch to best portray the energy of the songwriting, not to mention the power of the slower power chord rhythms. The CD-R comes in a simple sleeve printed from a color printer, and the antichristian artwork is pretty typical, so they could definitely stand to up the ante on their visual presence, but it's not that big of a deal. No lyrics are included, but the artwork along with song titles like "Sell Your Messiah" and the title track give you enough of an indication of what to expect there. The band's not really doing anything new, but they're definitely competent at this particular style of metal, so with a more efficient recording they could certainly do some damage. I definitely like that the songs are all short but sweet, so they've got some prospective working in their favor. There's not too much to say about it since they sort of deliver the goods and wrap it up pretty quick, there's not a terribly large amount of variety, but... I'm liking the songs for the most part.
[self-released]
Running time - 13:33, Tracks: 4
[Notable tracks: Higher Art of Bleeding, Unleashed]
Sightless - http://www.sightless.fi
