Summary Judgment
A member of the UK's Sanhedrin contacted me about reviewing their EP, And on into the Eternal Nether . . . of Forgotten and Stricken Souls. It consists of three tracks: an intro, a 10 minute main song, and a 2 minute piano closer.The piano closer is actually pretty cool. Nevertheless, I am issuing summary judgment against the band in this case.
They play melodic death metal with a few blackened touches. There's nothing wrong with that, I suppose, but this is not working. The song is not interesting enough to hold up for the 10 minute runtime. It attempts to be dramatic, but it simply isn't dramatic enough, and it's not angry or visceral enough to hold up under any other standard. The solos near the end seem randomly thrown in. There's clipping in the mix. But more importantly, the vocal phrasing is all wrong, resulting in hooks that are at best perplexingly awkward, at worst annoying.
Cosmo Lee recently asked why bands still play melo-death. I think it's a fair question. Still, for a price tag of free, you might like it, and the guy who contacted me seems like a nice enough guy.
There are still plenty of good melodeath bands out there. In particular the outstanding Finnish scene with Insomnium and Omnium Gatherum. I certainly don't think the subgenre is dead even though most of its pioneers probably should quit.
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