Earth The Bleeding Fields
High Voltage Records
2002
by Nathan Pearce
While I like to think I have obtained a decent background in American and European Death Metal, Australian Death Metal is another story. The name Earth is not totally unfamiliar to me, but I would be lying if I said I had followed their career throughout the years. So now that I have established my ignorance of the band I am about to review, here are my thoughts.
Earth hail from the mid-paced Death Metal school (think Entomed Wolverine Blues). While Entombed would be one of their closest Death Metal cousins, I wouldnt even think of calling them an Entombed clone. On The Bleeding Fields, Earth have taken the sounds of Death-n-Roll, combined them with the keyboards of Black Metal, and have created a sound that is familiar but unique.
Guitars emit thick and full distortion, and, surprisingly at times, quite interesting riffs, given the occasional lack of original song structure. The keyboards are usually just there for atmosphere and to compliment the other instruments; although, occasional glimpses of something more creep into the mix. The vocals are a strong point on this album; however, some will find them a little unoriginal. Nevertheless, they emit a true blend of anger and aggression. The vocals range from deep growls to higher raspier growls.
Unfortunately (or fortunately, depending on how you look at it), no one song seems to catch my attention more than any other. If I had to pick one song that would best display this bands talents, I might say Armageddon. The opening piano segment that flows into the heavier section, which then flows nicely with piano undertones, seems to appeal to me because of the careful song construction.
While this album is a very strong release, I would only recommend it to the Death Metal faithful. Earth have crafted a fine piece of work, but, in my opinion, they only occasionally tap into their finer talents.
High Voltage Records
2002
by Nathan Pearce
While I like to think I have obtained a decent background in American and European Death Metal, Australian Death Metal is another story. The name Earth is not totally unfamiliar to me, but I would be lying if I said I had followed their career throughout the years. So now that I have established my ignorance of the band I am about to review, here are my thoughts.
Earth hail from the mid-paced Death Metal school (think Entomed Wolverine Blues). While Entombed would be one of their closest Death Metal cousins, I wouldnt even think of calling them an Entombed clone. On The Bleeding Fields, Earth have taken the sounds of Death-n-Roll, combined them with the keyboards of Black Metal, and have created a sound that is familiar but unique.
Guitars emit thick and full distortion, and, surprisingly at times, quite interesting riffs, given the occasional lack of original song structure. The keyboards are usually just there for atmosphere and to compliment the other instruments; although, occasional glimpses of something more creep into the mix. The vocals are a strong point on this album; however, some will find them a little unoriginal. Nevertheless, they emit a true blend of anger and aggression. The vocals range from deep growls to higher raspier growls.
Unfortunately (or fortunately, depending on how you look at it), no one song seems to catch my attention more than any other. If I had to pick one song that would best display this bands talents, I might say Armageddon. The opening piano segment that flows into the heavier section, which then flows nicely with piano undertones, seems to appeal to me because of the careful song construction.
While this album is a very strong release, I would only recommend it to the Death Metal faithful. Earth have crafted a fine piece of work, but, in my opinion, they only occasionally tap into their finer talents.
