If I actually review a self released demo here, you know I must like it.
There’s a pretty specific target audience for this very tasty, very professionally packaged and produced little 6 track EP (5 songs, one intro) and that’s Killswitch Engage fans. But rather than simply deliver Killswitch Engage mimicry, Portland’s Across the Sun add some very heavy handed synths to the mix.
However, the end result of Brandon Davis’ Howard Jones impersonation, both clean and screamed, competent dual riffage, as well as the pretty continual keyboard tinkling make for a slightly more cohesive, version of shortlived Prosthetic Records act Burn In Silence (ironically, I could see Across the Sun as a perfect fit on prosthetic Records) as well as the obvious Killswitch Engage comparison.
The keys are not merely scattered around like say The Faceless or Born of Osiris, but incorporated much more like a symphonic black metal/melodic death metal act, (Lothlorien, Soilwork, Dimmu Borgir, etc) often sweeping and elegant (“The Infinite Divide”, “Life. Respect”), or sometimes proggy and experimental (“Variations on a Scream”, “A Means to An End”), but always present.
The tracks are fairly standard but above average metalcore/melodic death metal, and Davis needs to clean up his clean croons a tad, but otherwise, from opening tinkling and stern breakdown of “The Human Process”, through closing ballad “The Sun Sets”, the EP is about as promising example of modern metal from an unsigned act I’ve heard in a while. But I imagine the unsigned status won’t remain for long
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Erik, reviews like these are why I feel like I can trust you. Most metalheads wouldn’t even stop to spit on a record this commercial lest they tarnish their metal cred, but here you are giving it a fair shake like everything else. This sure as shit isn’t my thing, but I know that when you review something I’m actually interested in, you’ll be giving me a straight review I can rely on, scene politics excluded.
on Aug 7th, 2008 at 17:03PS: What happened to the blog? Seems like there hasn’t been any movement on that front for most of the summer.
on Aug 7th, 2008 at 17:35Hey Dan-thanks for the kind words-means alot coming from someone like you
on Aug 7th, 2008 at 19:16Sounds interesting, though I must ask: when you mention KsE, are you referring to Leach era or Jones era? Or maybe somewhere in the middle?
on Aug 8th, 2008 at 16:52Thanks for the honest and non biased review, Erik. We were more than happy to hear your opinions of which we hold in such a high regard.
Alan
on Dec 9th, 2008 at 05:04Across The Sun