Hmmm... now this is a very fucking interesting two-song demo. The songs are really lengthy and have an ample amount of repetition as well as a good mix of changes. It's metalcore I suppose, but it's definitely a lot more curious than average with generally midpaced riffing that's not easy to pin down at all. It's more metal than anything, but it's sort of unique for the most part. There are a lot of great dissonant melodies, tastefully employed samples and electronic textures (not all the time, only in segments), sick vocal screams with a little distortion, some singing and whispering, etc. The singing ain't that hot, but it could get better with some work. I like the aggressive vocals a lot, though. Now, I'm going to make a loose comparison here that I never make, but if I had to compare this band to anyone I would say that they do bear some similarities to Starkweather in the grand scheme of things. Do they really sound that much like Starweather? No. Are they as good as Starkweather? Not on your life. But... I feel that in some ways they are coming from a similar angle, and I greatly respect what I'm hearing here. The sound? Well, it needs some work, but I've heard worse coming from big labels, so... they're on the right path. The core issue that I have with the sound is that the drums are programmed. The programming is well handled and the tones are good for what they are, but I still feel that they need more density to fit in with the thickness of the guitar playing if at all possible. The guitar tone is fine by me, especially for a demo, but I'd like to hear more bass definition. As for the vocals, the singing vocals are too loud, especially in "When the Light Dies", but other than that it sounds pretty good. The CD-R comes in a black sleeve with a high contrast black and white design on the CD face that contains the tracklist/band information and some abstract art. It's a shame they didn't make an inexpensive xeroxed sleeve to go with it since it looks decent, but I can let it slide since they're obviously competent and it is presentable in a very stripped down manner. Very interesting, indeed. Seeing that this is only a demo I have to give it a 7/10 because the writing and overall feel shit all over most demos, even though there's still a lot of growing room. I'm intrigued. I really want to hear more from this band, and I god damn sure hope they don't fall through the cracks. Very promising...
[self-released]
Running time - 13:04, Tracks: 2
[Notable tracks: Al Ta'ashet]
The Ancient Enemy - http://www.theancientenemy.com
