SHADOWS CAST IN STONE (DEMO 1)
REVIEWS PAGE 1
SAD
CADAVER NEWSLETTER.
First
demo from these ex-Burial guys, and it's pretty promising. Firstly, the demo
starts with the death/ doom riff that we all know and loath, but thankfully
that doesn't last long. Some of the riffs are really cool, sometime reminding
me of Eucharist, sometimes Candlemass, but with the old Burial sound. It works
well. To top of it all are so,me pretty good, brutal as fuck vocals, though
on one song (I think it's World Within A World) great low, clean vocals, that
really wouldn't sound out of place on the Godsend album. This five track demo
is a Good start, but a little more work is needed.
Review by Craig Phillips.
PAGAN
PAGES (U.S.A.).
Formerly known as Burial, well there is only two members of that band in this
quintet. But anyway, this band is very much up to date with the doom scene in
their country. Gripping influence from Anathema and My Dying Bride plus their
own heavy sound they managed to create their own style of dark, romantic doom
metal. Most of the demo maintains a very somber and moody feeling in the music
that it is very pleasant to hear a band in this style put in some other type
of influence, and in this case the heaviness of Burial still partakes in the
writing process of this English doom band. Very nice and clean production befalls
this demo.
Review by Rob?
MASTER
OF BRUTALITY (NETHERLANDS).
Maybe some of you remember Burial, an English Death Metal band which released
2 demos and an EP between '91 and '92. That band had some lineup changes and
with new members their music got more atmospheric and variated. They decided
to change their name into Unsilence. You must see this as a new band and not
as the continuation of Burial. The only Burial members are Kieron - guitars
and Mick - bass. The new members are Rick - guitar, Andrew - vocals and stand-in
drummer Ric who's also in Mephisto. This 5 track demo is their first release
and yes, their songs are very atmospheric. Many variation is used and due to
that this is a very interesting product. Maybe their riffs are not the most
original ones but they are used in a way that they sound very good. The powerful
production improves it even more. The growling vocals are a bit in the My Dying
Bride/ Chorus Of Ruin vein. Keyboards, acoustic guitars, all the atmospheric
ideas are used. The songs are called "Void Of Emotion", "Pictures",
"Shadows Cast In Stone", "World Within A World" and "
Weeping". The titlesong is an acoustic instrumental. The other song are
all athmospheric and variated tracks, very good!!!
Review by Ewald Provoost.
TERRORIZER
(ENGLAND)
Unsilence may
have been born from the ashes of Burial, but there the connection ends. Unsilence
are a totally separate entity from that outfit, and there has been some lineup
changes also. Unsilence have opted for a route through the forest doom/ death
metal, a path that British bands are famed for. "Shadows Cast In Stone"
shows that the band plays the style very confidently and provide a lot of elements
to admire, from their bass heavy, crushing sound to their quality guitar harmonies.
There is a lot of weeping sorrow on tracks like "Void Of Emotion"
and "World Within A World". The latter also sees Andrew Hodson take
on a normal voice from his gruff growling on the other tracks. I think this
will be the direction they will take the vocals in the future.
The title track itself is an acoustic piece, with atmospheric keyboards, the
occasional violin sound and acoustic guitars. It does bring to mind My Dying
Bride to be honest. Unsilence haven't quite got their own identity totally yet,
but they are making strides to get there. Certainly, "Shadows Cast In Stone"
is a worth while tape, which comes with a photo cover and a double sided inlay
with lyrics.
Review by Russ Smith. Contact: BTears@aol.com
Terrorizer: www.terrorizer.com