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| Salome take their doom/sludge with a heavy dose of crust. The angry female vokills of Kat (from Agoraphobic Nosebleed) makes for a compa... (see more) |
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| EndName - Dreams of a Cyclops (2009) |
While this Russian instrumental band do to some degree deserve the label doom/drone there are two problems with this. One: Most of the tracks are indeed loaded with doom metal elements but nonetheless fall slightly outside what I would call "true" doom metal (the reader is free to object, of course). Two: The music is often repetitive enough to be labeled drone, but the monotony which I find that that label requires is missing. On the contrary, this is a very rich and diverse album that draw on many different influences, many whom I have a hard time placing.
Tracks like 'North', 'Eclipse', and 'Dissociation' sound like an enriched Pelican, which is perhaps the name who gets profiled the most through EndName's music. Additionally I feel that a complete explanation of the music must also mention similarities to Neurosis, Pawementsaw, 5ive/5ive's Continuum Research Project, Agalloch the Firebox sound, Mothertrucker, math rock, keyboard rich black metal (Sad Legend and Black Swan being the first who come to my mind), gritty grunge, neoclassical, and neofolk. That host of influences carve a new path into metal/core/rock (I'm not really sure where to place it); and not only, the music is really fascinating, especially to me who's fond of bands who find a way to magically remove the seams in-between genres.
The barrier of sound that is EndName doesn't create the soundscape of Godzilla's footsteps like many other bands of this mass do. They push on continuously, sounding as if the merciless elements are let lose on you through the speakers. You get the occational breather from calmer moments - not to mention the well deserved break provided by the calm 'Dissolution' - but even they are complex and layered. And even if I feel a b it exhausted after spinning this disk once, the complete and utter catchyness of the whole album make the trip totally worth it.
'Dreams of a Cyclops' would clearly be of most interest to fans of Pelican, 5ive, Neurosis, and other bands of approximately that style. Additionally, appreciating soundscape music shouldn't be underestimated as an incentive. Moreover, since this is a band who hold a high standard of musicianship it might even appeal to many outside that fanbase. Being so unusual as they are, they might even deserve to label their own separate fanbase. I sincerely hope that the Eastern European origins of this album won't force this band out of history because, to my ears at least, this band deserves to be acknowledged right alongside the best of it's kind. |
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1. Inception
2. North
3. Eclipse
4. Beyond The Scope
5. Dissolution
6. Dissociation
Duration: Approx. 55 minutes.
Visit the bandlist page for EndName
| Reviewed on 22-10-2009 by Arnstein H. Pettersen |
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| Pick of the Month |
Mistress Of The Dead
'S/T' |
...where ultra-slow funeral doom plod along with it's misery, nihilism and hideous death. In the two latter tracks a little more melody and an even stronger feeling of nihilism is brought in along with clear elements of Until Death Overtakes Me...
Read the full review here.
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