the review of shroud of bereavement in metal maniacs is now in there/fixed[views:3421][posts:19]___________________________________ [Aug 15,2006 9:48pm - dyingmuse ""] if you happen to get a copy, read that shit! it's awesome! i'm pretty stoked! Shroud Of Bereavement/Withersoul A Maddening Hue/Decent Split CD Oak Knoll Recently, the realm of the split cd has been confined to fill-in-the-blankcore, so this first installmwnt is the Oak Knoll Presents series came as a bit of a surprise. Withersoul and Massachusettes born Shroud Of Bereavement plow the fields of doom to varying degrees of success, giving the term "split cd" a relevance thet probably wasn't intended. it's a good thing that Shroud Of Bereavement came first here, or I'd likely have never made it through the end of the disc. The septet uses their 25 minutes to craft melencholic Euro-doom, shot through with threads of My Dying Bride(think Angel And The Dark River) and a little Skepticism shoved into the coffin for that funeral tone attempted by so many, but executed by far too few. The tandem female vocals of Kelly Ann Sullivan and Julie Beaulieu (also keys here) channel Ihriel of Peccatum, beginning the malicious dirge of "A Maddening Hue." When you have songs that last a quarter of an hour, you damn well better keep them interesting, and this is where SOB triumphs. Earthbound guitars lay a crushing weight upon the listener, Dan Robinson's moribound rumblings doing their damndest to hold you down as the angelic intonations of his female counterparts threaten to pull the whole thing up and through the celestial plane. "...And Their Tears Shall Flood The Earth" continues the atmospheric journey, the band seeming to effortlessly invoke that semi-catatonic state where you can do nothing except lie still as liquid emotion slaps against your ribcage from the inside with the force of a tidal wave. This is what doom is about and, though encased in darkness, it's clear that the music of Shroud Of Bereavement is a labor of love. Pity I can't say the same for Withersoul. It's not that the musicians are unskilled in their craft, but they couldn't arrange themselves out of a paper casket with a blowtourch. Strange early '90s death riffs are crammed up against grating keys, and the token female vocals don't really add anything to the mix. How can they, really, when faced with the musical side of the band veering from what should (and could) be pummeling doom to lightweight delivery with precious little of the bottom-end this music demands? I kind of feel sorry for Laura, as she has a decent voice that would compliment a band of better caliber, and a delivery similar to rob lowe os Solitude Aeturnus, where shackled to his midrange. As it is, it's almost like she was given the lyrics the day before with instructions to "make it sound pretty." As said, this is the true definition of a split cd. Sure the Withersoul contribution is a disappointment, but Shroud Of Bereavement makes it a worthy purchase on the strength of their material alone. [www.oak-knoll.com] -Lord Randall |
| ________________________________________ [Aug 16,2006 11:39am - litacore nli ""] I saw that, darkest kudos! too bad they didn't like the Wintersoul half~ |
| __________________________________________ [Aug 16,2006 11:58am - DreamingInExile ""] shit, I have to go pick this up now... |
| ___________________________________ [Aug 16,2006 12:58pm - powerkok ""] fucking sweet. U guys pwn. |
| ____________________________________ [Aug 16,2006 1:10pm - anonymous ""] heres to you,mister gay porn inventor,you know nothing says lovin like hairless hardbodied asian boys,,,uhh..shit i forget the rest! |
| _______________________________________ [Aug 16,2006 1:11pm - litacore nli ""] huh? |
| ___________________________________ [Aug 16,2006 4:52pm - dyingmuse ""] anonymous said: heres to you,mister gay porn inventor,you know nothing says lovin like hairless hardbodied asian boys,,,uhh..shit i forget the rest! Gay porn inventor! lol ha HA HA HA! you rememmbered! ha ha ha, that's hillarious! you missed a crazy weekend with Donnie! I'll tell ya when i see you again! let's tie one on this weekend pussy! thanks on the review guys, I am still pretty stoked on that one! yeah withersoul got pretty bashed on that one. I wish I had an online version to post here and our forum, I'll do a search i guess. |
| ________________________________ [Aug 16,2006 4:53pm - Ryan_M ""] metal maniacs? pfff...did you guys start playing screamo-gothenburg death metal without me knowing? fuckin sell outs!!! just kidding dude, congrats and keep up the great work! |
| ___________________________________ [Aug 16,2006 4:53pm - dyingmuse ""] Mark, they have like 10 more at barnes and noble in salem |
| ___________________________________ [Aug 16,2006 5:35pm - dyingmuse ""] there I fixed this bitch and added the text to the header |
| _________________________________________ [Aug 16,2006 5:44pm - DreamingInExile ""] I'll go pick that up maybe tomorrow after that battle of the mallcore thing... or something... I dunno, I'll look around at some other stores too. |
| ___________________________________ [Aug 16,2006 11:11pm - litacore ""] I subscribe. I love the writing. So well done. Metal George of The Accursed is a MM scribe! |
| _______________________________________ [Aug 17,2006 3:03am - Y_Ddraig_Goch ""] They have a few copies at all the newburries I have been to in the last month or so. I picked it up obviously but have yet to listen as I buy to many cds at once. |
| ___________________________________ [Aug 17,2006 4:38am - dyingmuse ""] Ryan_M said:metal maniacs? pfff...did you guys start playing screamo-gothenburg death metal without me knowing? fuckin sell outs!!! just kidding dude, congrats and keep up the great work! ha ha ha! gotta love the screamo! lol thanks man, hope to have the new cd out soon! |
| __________________________________ [Aug 17,2006 10:03am - cavnli ""] congrats guys!! but a review is just one guys opinion. that other band shouldnt hang thier heads. unless they really suck that bad. haha. |
| _______________________________________ [Aug 17,2006 10:10am - the_reverend ""] what will be on the next installmwnt? |
| ___________________________________ [Aug 17,2006 3:16pm - dyingmuse ""] wellp? there are 3 albums I am working on at the moment Alone Beside (finished)Her will have Effloresce,A Rose For A Dying Muse, Unsanctified, Communion, The forever Dance, and a possible Cover song(Skepticism) we are talking about having Dan Swano re mix the entire album, but not sure. then The Fools Lament which will have 7 or 8 tracks, I just finished work on Must it Be? and Absolution among others. and lastly, A Beautiful Winter(about my daughter) I have 1 finished song and 3 other working songs. I want maybe 6 or so for that one. |
| ________________________________________ [Aug 17,2006 5:21pm - My_Dying_Bride ""] dood! when you get any of them made for distro lemme know...i would like a piece of the pie |
| ____________________________________ [Aug 17,2006 10:05pm - dyingmuse ""] we have 2 already out. the rest, we are still kinda searching for the right label/deal. |
| ____________________________________ [Aug 18,2006 10:33pm - dyingmuse ""] are you interested in the distro end? |