Ebony Tears - Evil As Hell
Century Media Records - 2001
By Philip Whitehouse
Visit the Ebony Tears web site
While the title of this particular album might not be spectacularly deep or meaningful, it is bloody appropriate. Ebony Tears play murderous death metal with an occasional leaning into cyber-metal territory. And they do it rather well, too!
Starting with a backdrop of siren-wailing noise, Ebony Tears soon set out their stall with a battering double-bass assault and speedy riff that set this head a-bangin' right from the first few seconds. It's not easy to impress me that quickly, usually, but there's something primal in the speed and aggression of these songs that demands some kind of response - preferably a circle-pit!
'Outraged', for example, is possibly the angriest song I've heard since Nasum's 'Parting Is Such Sweet Sorrow'. Lines like 'So you're taking me for an imbecile I swear I'll break your fucking bones' are barked with such fury that they stand out from the mass of bored-sounding cookie-monster gargling that plagues so much of the death metal scene.
Ebony Tears do occasionally slow things down though, such as on the mid-song breakdown in 'Lowdown'. But where they're clearly at their best and most comfortable is on tearaway riff-monsters of songs such as 'Demon Ride'. Guitarist Conny Jonsson spices up proceedings with the occasional melodic guitar lick or fret-melting solo, while Johnny Wranning's hoarse voice cuts out through the riffs, grabs you by the throat and shakes hard. Richard Evensand's drumming is exceptional, while Peter Kahm's bass is sadly quite inaudible due to the guitar and drum-focussed production.
Luckily, Kahm gets to show off with some keyboards as well. Not too often, but he does get the chance to really let his nimble fingers fly on the last track, whereas elsewhere he just adds the occasional ambient touch to proceedings.
Overall, Ebony Tears do what they do very well, but their major failing is their lack of variety - the songs all follow pretty much the same formula, which is itself already a very common one. The constant pace and aggression of the songs loses effect after a while - in fact, the listener becomes somewhat desensitised to it. The energy rush is therefore immediate, but regrettably short lived. A good album therefore to put on for a couple of songs to get your neck muscles aching, but not one you leave on to listen attentively to all the way through.
6.5/10
Century Media Records - 2001
By Philip Whitehouse
Visit the Ebony Tears web site
While the title of this particular album might not be spectacularly deep or meaningful, it is bloody appropriate. Ebony Tears play murderous death metal with an occasional leaning into cyber-metal territory. And they do it rather well, too!
Starting with a backdrop of siren-wailing noise, Ebony Tears soon set out their stall with a battering double-bass assault and speedy riff that set this head a-bangin' right from the first few seconds. It's not easy to impress me that quickly, usually, but there's something primal in the speed and aggression of these songs that demands some kind of response - preferably a circle-pit!
'Outraged', for example, is possibly the angriest song I've heard since Nasum's 'Parting Is Such Sweet Sorrow'. Lines like 'So you're taking me for an imbecile I swear I'll break your fucking bones' are barked with such fury that they stand out from the mass of bored-sounding cookie-monster gargling that plagues so much of the death metal scene.
Ebony Tears do occasionally slow things down though, such as on the mid-song breakdown in 'Lowdown'. But where they're clearly at their best and most comfortable is on tearaway riff-monsters of songs such as 'Demon Ride'. Guitarist Conny Jonsson spices up proceedings with the occasional melodic guitar lick or fret-melting solo, while Johnny Wranning's hoarse voice cuts out through the riffs, grabs you by the throat and shakes hard. Richard Evensand's drumming is exceptional, while Peter Kahm's bass is sadly quite inaudible due to the guitar and drum-focussed production.
Luckily, Kahm gets to show off with some keyboards as well. Not too often, but he does get the chance to really let his nimble fingers fly on the last track, whereas elsewhere he just adds the occasional ambient touch to proceedings.
Overall, Ebony Tears do what they do very well, but their major failing is their lack of variety - the songs all follow pretty much the same formula, which is itself already a very common one. The constant pace and aggression of the songs loses effect after a while - in fact, the listener becomes somewhat desensitised to it. The energy rush is therefore immediate, but regrettably short lived. A good album therefore to put on for a couple of songs to get your neck muscles aching, but not one you leave on to listen attentively to all the way through.
6.5/10
