After hitting the melodic death metal jackpot with Arsis’s debut back in 2004, after a small wait, Willotip appear have tried their hand in uncovering another melodeath band in Houston’s As Eden Burns, though it has less spectacular, if solid results.
While certainly a busy melodeath metal band similar to Arsis, there’s a lack of totality and cohesion amid the no doubt skilled, and at times, very well done material. Plus, I can’t quite shake the fact that beneath its more chaotic and underground Willowtip-y exterior As Eden Burns are merely a more typical US styled melo-core (i.e The Black Dahlia Murder and their ilk) type band. And truthfully there are a breakdown and a clean production away from being a Metal Blade band. As it stands their slightly murky production and relatively non linear song structure keep them lightly rooted in more death metal realms.
Still, the guitars swirl and weave with an almost controlled chaos with solos abound and there are lots of dual growled/screamed vocals amid the flourishes of galloping and slightly unpredictable structures. The end result is 8 solid songs of well done and undeniably above average music, but nothing that really throttles you or tries to re-define a genre as Arsis did, but I’m sure this isn’t the bands goal. Instead, they are attempting to give Willowtip’s rosters some sense of melody and restraint amid the latter part of 2008 assault (Crowpath, Kill the Client, Maruta, etc) and it works. Tracks like “Ever Again”, “Conceptual Decay”, “Guilds” “Lost Counsel and Untimely Doom” (pretty much the album’s better later half especially), seem to thrive on a more feverish take on melodic death metal without being too In Flames-y or sugary, instead being a little more raw and snarling, while still have some melodic chops.
A solid debut but with some room to grow and hopefully this lot will indeed grow and come to be as good and creative as some of their current and prior label mates
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Man I want to get this cd sooo bad.I remember back in 06 Tipton said they signed ’em,so I of course checked ’em out.I instantly purchased their ep,I really dig their stuff.After hearing their new takes on some songs and the new stuff I think I’m going to love this album.I agree with the comparison,thankfully they distinguish themselves enough to catch my attention.Particularly with their hooks in songs like Ever Again and I enjoy the noodling./Rant
on Jan 9th, 2009 at 15:28Not a bad album, but nothing too special. Pretty spot on comparison to what I thought.
on Jan 9th, 2009 at 16:48The problem this band has, really, is when I’m in the mood for this sort of thing, I reach for Arsis. Second half of it is a lot better, and I hear a lot of potential, but right now, they’re solid but not spectacular.
on Jan 14th, 2009 at 22:19I am going to use some empirical logic here: Arsis is wayyyy better than these guys. I mean even with the now departed Darren Cesca’s ADD blasting can’t away from a song like Sightless Wisdom. And you need only go back to a Celebration of Guilt to see how completely peerless Arsis is in this style.
Willowtip, I am disappointed. It’s like signing a new thrash band: no teeth, no staying power. And that guy in the band looks like a dingle…and by that I mean eerily like myself.
on Jan 16th, 2009 at 14:15