The world is rich with examples where something sounded great conceptually but failed to reach such heights. Neo-classical black metal band GraveSideService can be added to the list of such occurrences. What makes the concept behind the band sound great is not the actual combination of the neo-classical style and black metal, as the style has been steadily creeping its way into extreme metal. The intrigue comes from how the band marries the two styles by way of a classical piano. The failure comes in the execution.
The formula is a unique yet simple one: No guitars. No bass. Just piano and drums. These instruments definitely do away with the typical notions of black metal. Gone are the cold, biting atmospheres the genre has been known to incorporate. In their place emerges atmospheres of a significantly different nature yet equally dark.
There is an inherent haunting quality and a certain degree of elegance about the piano that work well when combined with black metal. It is when either of those elements are lost, however, that the album falters, and the major detractor is the vocals. The vocalist uses a variety of techniques (shrieks, growls, spoken word) but unfortunately commits to none. The whole performance is rather weak and robs the music of atmosphere at times, largely during the speedier moments, and reduces it to purely terrible shrieks and wails with a mashing piano (see: "Devil Made Me Do It"). It is unfortunate because the instrumental performances are actually quite solid.
The drums are rich and the dynamic between the two instruments is interesting with the drums providing an anchor and some depth to the lighter, wispy keyboard melodies - so long as there is some separation between the two. The mix does not give the piano the sonic heft to rise above the drums at all times causing the speedier moments on the album to lose this separation and things to become occasionally cluttered. The piano uses a variety of sounds and is surprisingly effective at building the types of atmospheres typically reserved for guitars in black metal, as"Masters In Lunacy", "Tackled & Shackled" and "Tephination" will attest, yet other songs completely lack such atmospheres. The absence of guitars, although planned, is also sorely missed and never lost on the listener throughout the album.
Therein lies the problem for GraveSideService: add guitars and sound like everyone else or stay original and possibly suffer for it. The King has stated on several occasions that he believes good songwriting trumps a lack of originality for any band of any genre. GraveSideService is a young band with an original and novel approach to the black metal genre. There is certainly something to be said for such uniqueness. It will be interesting to see what direction the band takes with future material. In the meantime, Masters In Lunacy is a solid, albeit flawed, debut album from a band with loads of potential. - 3.0/5.0
Originally posted at: http://www.kingcripple.blogspot.com/
The formula is a unique yet simple one: No guitars. No bass. Just piano and drums. These instruments definitely do away with the typical notions of black metal. Gone are the cold, biting atmospheres the genre has been known to incorporate. In their place emerges atmospheres of a significantly different nature yet equally dark.
There is an inherent haunting quality and a certain degree of elegance about the piano that work well when combined with black metal. It is when either of those elements are lost, however, that the album falters, and the major detractor is the vocals. The vocalist uses a variety of techniques (shrieks, growls, spoken word) but unfortunately commits to none. The whole performance is rather weak and robs the music of atmosphere at times, largely during the speedier moments, and reduces it to purely terrible shrieks and wails with a mashing piano (see: "Devil Made Me Do It"). It is unfortunate because the instrumental performances are actually quite solid.
The drums are rich and the dynamic between the two instruments is interesting with the drums providing an anchor and some depth to the lighter, wispy keyboard melodies - so long as there is some separation between the two. The mix does not give the piano the sonic heft to rise above the drums at all times causing the speedier moments on the album to lose this separation and things to become occasionally cluttered. The piano uses a variety of sounds and is surprisingly effective at building the types of atmospheres typically reserved for guitars in black metal, as"Masters In Lunacy", "Tackled & Shackled" and "Tephination" will attest, yet other songs completely lack such atmospheres. The absence of guitars, although planned, is also sorely missed and never lost on the listener throughout the album.
Therein lies the problem for GraveSideService: add guitars and sound like everyone else or stay original and possibly suffer for it. The King has stated on several occasions that he believes good songwriting trumps a lack of originality for any band of any genre. GraveSideService is a young band with an original and novel approach to the black metal genre. There is certainly something to be said for such uniqueness. It will be interesting to see what direction the band takes with future material. In the meantime, Masters In Lunacy is a solid, albeit flawed, debut album from a band with loads of potential. - 3.0/5.0
Originally posted at: http://www.kingcripple.blogspot.com/
