| Fall of Empyrean (Demo) | 2001 | No Label |
The band’s self-titled demo completely blew me away. Few releases within the genre have sounded so brutal and intricate at the same time, without sounding mismatched or discordant. Consisting of four songs, it is a very solid, consistent and attention-grabbing recording from start to finish.
It is a solid showcase of darkness meets musicianship. The second track entitled 'Cascading Rivers of Black' definitely stands out, with its sweeping melodies and baroque influenced guitar passages. All very calm sounding, with a nice contrast from vocalist Richard Medina’s jagged growls. Beastly yet soothing, like some sort of deathlike caress. Totally lethal, yet completely welcomed.
The track 'Solar Journey' does feel a bit lost in the beginning, though. The demo would feel a bit more tied together if the verse in the song was a bit more solid. All in all it is a great track, although not one that represents the high points of the demo very well.
Finally the release closes with the song entitled 'This Sanguine Farewell', which is the perfect closing track. It is the most melodic and sorrowful track on the release, and by far the most fulfilling. The guitar harmonies in the ending of the song especially stand out, as they compliment the vocals extremely well.
All in all, the listener has a very complete, satisfied feeling once the CD has finished. That’s what I favoured in particular about this demo. It includes the daily dose of melodic twists, along with a full serving of ample heaviness. Add the brutal vocals and solid drumming, and it fulfils even the most refined of listeners. This puppy has it all.
Unfortunately the demo is out of print, but all four tracks are still available for download on the Fall of Empyrean homepage (www.fallofempyrean.com). Fans of crushing death/doom and fans of timeless melodies alike should inquire in this release, as it is not one to be passed up!
1. Behind Vacant Eyes
2. Cascading Rivers of Black
3. Solar Journey
4. This Sanguine Farewell
Approx. 24 minutes
| Anhedonia (CD) | 2002 | No Label |
‘Anhedonia’ is a masterpiece of emotional modern doom, simply put. Some would perhaps swiftly neglect it as a boring, gothic drenched ‘Turn Loose the Swans’ replica, and though this classic record has undeniably influenced the band a great deal, this would be a completely stupid and incorrect stance to take. This CD is in fact very original and unique, and I would even go as far as to say there is not an ounce of goth present. So, make the typical generalisation of this and no doubt countless other bands if you wish, the rest of us will enjoy this album wholeheartedly.
If you are a little bit more open minded and have a fancy for passionate modern Doom-metal, then I strongly suggest you to continue, because this is one hell of a record, and is mightily promising for a band who began only a couple of years before. It starts with a sublime but short piano overture, and ends with a 10+ minute long heavy, emotional, moody death/doom tour de force, my personal favourite ‘Destructive Light of Dawn’. FoE’s music is really overflowing with torturous sorrow and pain, and this is illustrated not just in the woeful music, but in the bitter, melancholy lyrics and grey, hopeless artwork also...it all adds up to create an immensely sorrowful and emotive atmosphere that is devastatingly affective. The tempo is mostly mid-paced (on a doomy scale), and this is a largely accessible record compared to the more unconventional doom projects in existence...‘Anhedonia’ is certainly a metal album, and so will likely appeal to the more open minded but less doom-oriented metalheads out there, as well as the tragic doom- heads of course. As well as the traditional metal band instruments, with the tormented growls and woeful, rich guitars particularly dominant, Fall of Empyrean also introduce the occasional acoustic guitar interludes which always help to add atmosphere with their soft, solemn sound, and keys that are sometimes played solo, but mostly reasonably quiet and layered underneath the guitars - both the acoustics and keys are used minimally, but are effective in further adding to the emotional, despairing atmosphere. And, to generalise, this record could be compared to the works of Anathema (‘Serenades’ in particular), Mourning Beloveth and The Prophecy, though there are clearly more diverse influences such as Opeth present. Despite all this, FoE are certainly not a clone of any band, and with ‘Anhedonia’ they have composed quite an original CD, keeping with particularly favoured traditions of some of their fore-fathers and blending them in to their own sound to make a unique and top quality doom album.
So, if ‘Anhedonia’ does interest you and you’re appreciate of original, atmospheric, perhaps a little mellow and emotional doom, then I urge you to head over to www.fallofempyrean.com and get yourself a copy immediately. And for those who decide against doing this, just watch out for Fall of Empyrean in the future, as they seem to me to be a massively hot prospect within the modern doom scene, and if they continue at this rate, they could at least land themselves a record deal with no time.
1. Wounded Skies
2. This Paradise Crumbles
3. Drowning in Gray
4. Virga
5. The Catatonic
6. Destructive Light of Dawn
Approx. 37 minutes
| Fall of Empyrean/Il Sangue Split (CD) | 2003 | No Label |
The album starts off with Fall Of Empyrean' s first offering, 'This Paradise Crumbles'... one is treated to a short (and perhaps a bit off key... but maybe, that was intentional) acoustic intro, after which the band get right into it. It's difficult to make comparisons to other bands here, as they seemingly take a little influence from all of the 'big' doom/death bands. I can defiently see a bit of Anathema here, mostly due to the acoustic intro, and interludes. Perhaps, there is also a little bit of early/mid period Katatonia there as well. I suppose, the most shocking thing is a seeming lack of influence from My Dying Bride... it was something I fully expected after the first few riffs, but it just isn't there... strange... but good, as we already have enough MDB clones out there. Having said all that, I do prefer the second track, 'Destructive Light Of Dawn' however. It just seems to me, better composed, and laid out. Good solid leads, nice atmosphere, great melody. Nothing to complain about here. I'm actually a little surprised that Fall Of Empyrean hasn't been signed yet.
Next up, we have Il Sangue. The quality of these two tracks is noticably lower than the Fall Of Empyrean tracks, but not enough that it gets in the way of the music. After the intro of 'On Earth, As It Is In Perdition', I am quickly reminded of Shape Of Dispair, and Deinonychus, if only briefly in the sense that Il Sangue seems to reaching for that same atmosphere of, well, despair, that the other two are known for. Unlike Fall Of Empyrean there are no romantic or gothic influences here... just straight ahead death/doom, with the occasinal quieter part. I'd also like to add, that I think the 'sick' vocal style (part anguished screams, and part sick grunts, along with some clean spoken parts) suits this music extremely well. Overall, Il Sangue certainly is something one should check out, if they don't like any gothic and romantic influences in their death/doom.
In the end, we've got four tracks, by two good, young, and distinct doom/death bands on this disc. Certainly something which any doom/death fan should seek out... but the casual listener should skip this in favour of something more well-known.
Fall Of Empyrean:
1. This Paradise Crumbles
2. Destructive Light Of Dawn
Il Sangue:
3. On Earth, As It Is In Perdition
4. As Tongue Meets Ash
Approx. 37 minutes