This Brazilian band plays an interesting blend of metal that definitely seems influenced by melodic Swedish death metal, but it's thrashier and not as generic as most bands of that nature. The vocals are just throaty sneers that are a little bit ineffective for the energy of the music, but I can deal with that. Really the only thing I dislike, aside from problems with the recording, are the often overused pinch harmonics, which don't fit their writing style very much, and are even more annoying due to the abundance of treble to the tones. They make extensive use of melodic lead lines over the rhythms, especially when they slow things down, almost lending an "Icon" era Paradise Lost feel to some of the riffing. It's not too melodic, nor is it over the top in its aggression - it's almost catchy, but not quite. I wouldn't call it boring, but it does border on the redundant at times, so spicing it up with some variety certainly wouldn't hurt. The title track is effective in its varied approach, blending numerous tempos and more energetic riffing with darker chord progressions and some fairly well executed solos to boot. Hell, at times they even drop some riffs that sound like they came straight off of Death's "Individual Thought Patterns" (see "Red Mantle"), so this is a curious mix. The recording is too thin, though. The bass gets lost, and even though I like its defined tone, it needs more density. The drums sound okay but are also lacking in thickness, which does accentuate some nice playing, but the percussion still needs more punch. I'd also say the vocals are too far out front, and the rhythm guitar tone is a bit choppy and needs more crunch. The lead tone is pretty damn good, though. However, the layout is actually really, really awful. I think it's sort of trying to be artsy in a graphic design sense with the way the text is arranged and the photos are cropped and overlapped and stuff, but it looks pretty shitty. The band logo is no good, none of the imagery is interesting, the color choices are bland, and the typefaces are plain. I didn't even want to listen to this because the layout was so misleading. The lyrics aren't so bad considering: "Nothing matters anymore, But a memory I hope I won't lose, It brought me a different way, It was as if the darkness of my soul was small, It fed my desire of believing, It made me notice that my anguish created a greater ideal..." This is pretty interesting work that could be incredibly promising if the band keeps improving. For the most part I enjoy this, but with a stronger recording and a more consistently varied approach I really think they would be onto something. I think a different vocal style (or at least lower vocals) would also make a difference, but... that's just me.
[Mandrahgora]
Running time - 38:11, Tracks: 9
[Notable tracks: Portrait of My Soul, The Eyes That Roam in the Dark II]
Tharsis - [email protected]
