Beseech - Black Emotions
Pavement - 2000
By Beverley Shortland
Beseech are a 7 piece band from Sweden, founded in 1992 by guitarist Klas Bohlin and Robert Spånglund, and Black Emotions is their second album. The opening track, Manmade Dreams prepares you well for what youre about to hear; deep guttural vocals from Jörgen Sjöberg swathe across this contemporary, energetic and rhythmic track. From here on in the mood becomes continually mellower, particularly with the contribution of Lotta Höglins crisp Celtic voice. More than just a backing vocal, Höglins voice adds an ethereal element when mixed against the male lead. Also refreshing to hear a woman in metal singing with her own voice, and not trying to out do the boys in the grunt department. Refreshing to say the least.
Track 3 is Little Demonchild, the highlight of the album for me, where all the elements of Beseech come together at their best. A mixture of that atmospheric vocal doubling, orchestral sounds, delicate guitars all adding to this folky, haunting melody. This is a band that are not willing to fall into stereotypes, and more than willing to utilize some of modern musics elements and make them their own (youll notice that guitarist Robert Spånglund has a Programming credit). The mixture of electronic sounds, orchestral harmonies and crunching guitars works perfectly.
Ghost Story continues with the haunted theme of the music, and Neon Ocean manages to be the least clichéd ballad in history with its whispered vocals The themes continue with Lunar Eclipse, and then on to Velvet Erotica, perhaps the weakest track for me, with a little too much repetition, but Im sure others would disagree. A short instrumental, Universe, follows, and manages to kill the urge most of us have to skip these tracks. Wounded is the last song on the album, again followed by a longer instrumental piece, the title track, Black Emotions. I defy anyone to sit and listen to this piece with their eyes closed and not be carried away to some far off filmic landscape. A piece to allow your mind to dream . . .
From the opening few seconds you know you are listening to something different. No overwrought guitar solos, no keyboard breaks, no fast and furious double bass drumming, because this is a band not interested in showing off their musical prowess. Nothing is added to the tracks arbitrarily; every song is given what it needs and no more.
Thats not to say that the music is stripped bare, just that the layers are there because they should be, not because they can be. Theyre taking you on a journey, allowing you to dream as you listen; its about absorbing yourself in another world and soaking up the atmosphere.
The second disc we received, Beyond the Skies, is a demo of things to come, with three new tracks featuring their new male vocalist Erik Molarin (Sjöberg left the band after their successful European tour last year). The disc picks up where Black Emotions left off, with a continuation of the wonderful rhythm work of drummer Jonas Strömberg and bassist Daniel Elofsson, and Mikael Back on keyboards. Molarins voice manages to be unique, yet echo the sounds already familiar to fans, deep and languid but clean. Endless Waters and Sunset 28 are continuations of the Beseech sound, but for me the second track on this demo, Fiction City, was the most exciting of the three, showing a freshness and vibrancy that were slightly lacking from the other two tracks. The disc did its job though it left me wanting more.
What you want to know is should you buy this album? And the answer is yes. If you love music for the sounds its possible of, and the moods it can convey, for the way it can take you places youve never been, then you need this album. And you need it now.
Pavement - 2000
By Beverley Shortland
Beseech are a 7 piece band from Sweden, founded in 1992 by guitarist Klas Bohlin and Robert Spånglund, and Black Emotions is their second album. The opening track, Manmade Dreams prepares you well for what youre about to hear; deep guttural vocals from Jörgen Sjöberg swathe across this contemporary, energetic and rhythmic track. From here on in the mood becomes continually mellower, particularly with the contribution of Lotta Höglins crisp Celtic voice. More than just a backing vocal, Höglins voice adds an ethereal element when mixed against the male lead. Also refreshing to hear a woman in metal singing with her own voice, and not trying to out do the boys in the grunt department. Refreshing to say the least.
Track 3 is Little Demonchild, the highlight of the album for me, where all the elements of Beseech come together at their best. A mixture of that atmospheric vocal doubling, orchestral sounds, delicate guitars all adding to this folky, haunting melody. This is a band that are not willing to fall into stereotypes, and more than willing to utilize some of modern musics elements and make them their own (youll notice that guitarist Robert Spånglund has a Programming credit). The mixture of electronic sounds, orchestral harmonies and crunching guitars works perfectly.
Ghost Story continues with the haunted theme of the music, and Neon Ocean manages to be the least clichéd ballad in history with its whispered vocals The themes continue with Lunar Eclipse, and then on to Velvet Erotica, perhaps the weakest track for me, with a little too much repetition, but Im sure others would disagree. A short instrumental, Universe, follows, and manages to kill the urge most of us have to skip these tracks. Wounded is the last song on the album, again followed by a longer instrumental piece, the title track, Black Emotions. I defy anyone to sit and listen to this piece with their eyes closed and not be carried away to some far off filmic landscape. A piece to allow your mind to dream . . .
From the opening few seconds you know you are listening to something different. No overwrought guitar solos, no keyboard breaks, no fast and furious double bass drumming, because this is a band not interested in showing off their musical prowess. Nothing is added to the tracks arbitrarily; every song is given what it needs and no more.
Thats not to say that the music is stripped bare, just that the layers are there because they should be, not because they can be. Theyre taking you on a journey, allowing you to dream as you listen; its about absorbing yourself in another world and soaking up the atmosphere.
The second disc we received, Beyond the Skies, is a demo of things to come, with three new tracks featuring their new male vocalist Erik Molarin (Sjöberg left the band after their successful European tour last year). The disc picks up where Black Emotions left off, with a continuation of the wonderful rhythm work of drummer Jonas Strömberg and bassist Daniel Elofsson, and Mikael Back on keyboards. Molarins voice manages to be unique, yet echo the sounds already familiar to fans, deep and languid but clean. Endless Waters and Sunset 28 are continuations of the Beseech sound, but for me the second track on this demo, Fiction City, was the most exciting of the three, showing a freshness and vibrancy that were slightly lacking from the other two tracks. The disc did its job though it left me wanting more.
What you want to know is should you buy this album? And the answer is yes. If you love music for the sounds its possible of, and the moods it can convey, for the way it can take you places youve never been, then you need this album. And you need it now.
