Well this is Aesthetic Death so this EP is two tracks and around 25 minutes of music from this French progressive death/post metal band. Not a name I know but again, sometimes that’s good. Fresh ears.
Track one, ‘Fanges’ is a slow brooding intro that builds into thunder; kind of the slow wind you expect from the Amenra or Isis school of post metal storm brewing. It settles into a quiet of gentle guitar plucking and softly whispered vocals. It grows more sinister by gentle degrees before the inevitable, dare I say it predictable harsh riffing and vocals crush the world. The vocals vary between death growls and bellowing and work very well. The tempo is played with nicely; some twists and a tempestuous turn here and there. Really the only issue is… For me this could be any of a score of bands. It does what it does well enough but beyond the end of the track nothing much lingers with me I’m afraid.
‘Chassis De Chair’ on the other hand starts straight into some jittering, juddering tech death. Time bounces around between discordant melodic hints and jarring punches of gut and the vocals growl and spit before an uneasy space of calm intercedes. The noise returns, again more death metal than post, some neat ebb and flow to the riff, some dancing tech flutters along the fretboards. And that’s pretty much the pattern for 15 minutes.
Ah, look. Its the old ‘it’s well played and well composed’ line sadly. It is. No doubt. But it singularly fails to envelop and involve me in the actual music. If you’re a big fan of the post metal and and don’t mind a bit of tech death then give it a look.
It’s a pass from me though, sorry.
(5/10 Gizmo)
https://www.facebook.com/barusband
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