Reviews of the EP

http://livingformetal.com/reviews/review.aspx?reviewid=404

Martriden is a name that inspires nightmare and sleep paralysis. At least that is according to the website of the band that uses the name. In general, EPs are an afterthought in the music business, used primarily for either getting one’s feet wet or just to try out new ideas. It is too soon to tell, but Martriden has a chance to move up in the world.

With four tracks going for about 25 minutes total, the expectation is that Martriden would try to experiment on their self-titled EP. While they do not do that entirely, the parts they do have are very good and will attract fans of Heaven Shall Burn. The Montana based Martriden is more technical, but they also bring in some elements of black metal as well, although it does not show nearly as much as I would like. As with all technical-style bands, the drums are excellent and the guitars are proficient. There are some acoustic interludes mixed in, but they do not have the same hooks that the other parts do. Keyboards are there to compliment the music, not dominate the proceedings, which add a little atmosphere to the sound, but do not add much beyond that. Vocals, courtesy of Michael Cook, are similar to that of Heaven Shall Burn vocalist Markus Bischoff, only with more black metal growls.

After listening to Martriden, two things are made clear: they can be a great technical death metal band if they decide to commit in that direction and they rarely stray from their comfort zone once they find it. While the band still has some kinks to straighten out, they have a great foundation on which to work with, which is more than what can be said for bands just making it for the first time. Maybe opening for Emperor will help, but at least they will know what it is like to face pressure, if nothing else.
 
man, bought the ep the other day just cuz i was like woah, didnt expect to see it. anyway, its pretty tip top. tight as hell. Literally though boys, its in just about every major rock/metal magazine and in all the big chain stores aswell. crazy. bravo.
 
man, bought the ep the other day just cuz i was like woah, didnt expect to see it. anyway, its pretty tip top. tight as hell. Literally though boys, its in just about every major rock/metal magazine and in all the big chain stores aswell. crazy. bravo.

Yeh congrats fellas saw the ep in Virgin records today! + you have a small article and a 8/10 review in terrorizer magazine...but you guys probaly knew that.
 
Deadtide.com

I’ve decided that Candlelight Records are a bunch of lying bastards. The reason is that Martriden’s four-song, self-titled EP is way too good to be a debut effort. There’s just no fucking way that this Montana-based group can write music as incredible as this on their first try. The four songs span nearly the entire death metal genre, touching on everything from latter-day Amorphis and Opeth to the dense and brutal, technical death metal sound, and they do it all as if it were completely natural. When I read the press release, it seemed preposterous that some no-name, upstart band from the mountains would be opening for Emperor’s Chicago and LA shows, but now that I’ve heard the disc, it all makes perfect sense. Martriden have accomplished in a mere four songs something that many good bands never manage, and I’m not talking about booking. The material on this disc is phenomenal, impeccably balanced, perfectly produced (Dave Otero’s a genius, but I’ve been saying that since Serberus didn’t have much more than a four-song demo to speak of) and ripe for creating an army of Martriden converts. It’s only June, but this is, without any equivocation, the best album to cross my desk thus far in 2007.


Peter Johnston

http://www.deadtide.com/reviews/albums/page.php?id=3922
 
woohoo, band of the month! http://www.hardrockhaven.net/botm/June07%20BOTM.php


“The Hardrock Haven Band of the Month is a band we firmly believe needs to be heard. Each month, one Hardrock Haven staff member has their opportunity to pick a band they feel is going to break soon; a band that is deserved of nationwide attention; and lastly, a band that just kicks ass.” … Derric Miller.

Hardrock Haven is proud to bring you our fourth installment for our new section — Band of the Month — and this time around we journey to the USA and discover Martriden.

This fearsome quintet resides in the cold, desolate and windy terrain of Montana, an unlikely birthplace for the Black Metal genre for sure. Busting out of the shoots this spring with a 25-minute, four song-self titled EP of harsh quality Black Metal, Martriden are ready to conquer the international Black Metal scene already.

They have received so much word on the streets of their talents that they landed a spot on tour with the legendary symphonic Black Metal band from Norway, Emperor. Their first release is as solid as it gets and much more polished then usual Black Metal debut efforts. They blend a bit o’ Death Metal into their Black Metal and really come up with quite the potion.

One of the specific reasons of this band's certain ascension are the deliciously ferocious riffs from the band's three guitars. No people, in this case less is certainly not more, as Martriden powers through complex axe melodies and rhythms as well as several tight leads on every track.



Another reason these guys are so polished so early is the quality of the vocals from Michael Cook. His voice is perfect for Black Metal and fits right in with the genre's leading death merchants. Fans of this genre will hear this record and undoubtedly be yearning for much more from the sick Montana metal purveyors.

Their style is akin to new Nevermore and old Carcass, mixed in a 600 horsepower blender, with a few dead bodies thrown in for seasoning. Their EP is on sale for around $8, a steal for this much hard charging dark entertainment. We should all expect big things from Candlelight Records' latest discovery.
 
In an era where death metal is suffering all manner of indignities from folks who don't seem to entirely get the gist of it, with weak blastbeats and unacceptably nondescript growling haunting metal records the length and breadth of the downtuned battlefield, it's a relief to come across an outfit who not only appear to know what time it is, but are so efficient at conjuring up an atmosphere of windswept majesty that we're even willing to excuse their tub-thumping oft resembling a drum machine. Montana based Martriden's self-titled slab of salvation is a veritable masterclass in frost-bitten, blasting gloom, marking a dusky marriage between the weighty sturm und drang of Opeth and the symphonic standing-on-a-mountaintop grandeur ( if not exactly the riffs_ of Emperor, and elevated above the vast hordes of similar hue by some sparklingly spine chilling melodics that miraculously manage to steer clear of standard issue swedeath riffage. With wide-screen sweep worthy of Peter Jackson and sword-wielding intensity aplenty, this bunch of visually unappealing fellows are enough to renew faith in the fine art of the raised horns in even the most jaded cynic.

8/10

- Jim Martin
 
If you guys want to send one to www.maelstrom.nu, I'll give it a shot. Just make sure you include a c/o Brandon Strader in the address or it will go to any random reviewer on the zine.
 
I thought Metal Observer would never get around to reviewing the CD, but they finally did here: here. I was surprised to see we both got the same score on the site. :D Yeah man, we both had to wait until August to get our chops in. I've seen your CD circulating a ton of zines, you must be very busy with it - it even got reviewed on www.maelstrom.nu where I work, but not by me. Peace!

B