Released mid-2010, ‘At the End of a Journey’ has failed to make much of an impression upon the masses, with hardly any reviews to be found either online or in print publications. Formerly known as Carpathia, it is without surprise that Skon have fallen under the radar; a guise of ambiguity enshrouds this one man experimental project from the public making it almost impossible to learn anything about the music or the man behind it, Carpath.
However, plenty of musicians evade prying eyes without forsaking musical praise. The fact of the matter is that this four track EP does nothing to ignite curiosity. The riffs are akin to those of Agalloch’s earlier offerings; however, no variation is present on any of the songs, thus the same pattern is followed throughout and the material quickly becomes dull. A bizarre array of vocals accompanies the music and is certainly one of the EP’s weakest points. There is no consistency; Carpath changes the pitch and frequency of his voice for every song and in places becomes uncomfortable to listen to. Unfortunately, the vocals have been placed so high in the mix, during production, that they are almost impossible to ignore.
The drums and bass guitar are virtually non-existent and totally overshadowed by both guitar and vocals. The latter half of final song and title track ‘At the End of a Journey’ is unquestionably the only redeeming feature, with a high octave and complex guitar solo that represents the peak of Carpath’s creativity. When the closing bars finally ring out it definitely feels like the end of a journey – a long one, despite the short length of 30 minutes.
(4.5/10 Angela Davey)
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