| PAINWORK - the end of pain + PŸLON - days of sorrow / split CD (Split CD) | 2006 | Quam Libet/Non Stop Music |
Nevertheless, both of the bands have generally the same style of hard/doom rock with strong old-school influences. The major difference would be that Pÿlon is much more even in their ties to the Black Sabbath tradition, which in turn, of course, makes them a little less easy going than their split mates. While Painwork's fourth track, 'An Angel Tale', is indeed every bit as slow and doomy as you'd expect a traditional doom release to be, the remaining three have only minor hints towards that direction. The track also yields a very nice transfer into the Saint Vitusy 'Anaconda' by Pÿlon. The track very clearly stands out as the best one on the split. The two following tracks are in a similar style, but with no really memorable parts. I'm also having some serious problems with '2046' and 'Checkmate 64' just suddenly ending without any proper finish. It sounds like they just stop in the middle of the track.
I have many issues with this release. They are mostly minor ones, but they still do a lot of damage to my listener experience. Nearly all tracks, especially the more energetic ones, are lazier than seems intended, and with the exception of 'Anaconda', no tracks have anything that will make you interested in actively listening to it. I have no doubt that both bands can do better if they decide to.
Painwork:
1. Faces of Pain
2. The End of Pain
3. Blind Surface
4. An Angel Tale
Pÿlon:
5. Anaconda
6. 2046
7. Checkmate 64
Approx. 26 minutes
| The Eternal Wedding Band (CD) | 2006 | Quam Libet |
While the demonstration done on the split with Painwork revealed some Saint Vitus influences, it becomes clear as one listens to this CD that the three tracks included there didn't really reflect the even higher stronger influence that is the average here. They even managed to put the name Saint Vitus into the lyrics of 'A Walk Through Wonderland'. A few lines later, the word 'sabbath' is repeated and thus another of the clear influences has been mentioned. However, Pÿlon doesn't rely solely on these influences and stands strong in the hard rock direction as well. Finally there are in fact some very small death metal elements in a few tracks. Nothing that will ruin the experience for a dedicated old school listener, and it far from does anything major to the music either.
There is no shortage of groove here. Nor is there a shortage of diversity. I'm also sure many Saint Vitus fans would like the boozy vocals. However, it seems that no matter which direction they go, they seldom manage to make anything that really grips you. The bonus video contains black and white - mostly white - images of graves, trees, a woman walking in a dark robe and not much else. I criticized the tracks that appeared on the split for suddenly just ending. Nothing has changed there. The tracks 'Anaconda' and 'In from the Funeral Fields' are the only ones that stand out from the others. I should point out that a real old school fan might feel differently about it. I'm saying that because with the exception of the tracks that just suddenly stop in very annoying places, the rest aren't really that bad. They just didn't do much for me.
I. And Thus It Ends...
II. Anaconda
III. Falling Into the Sun
IV. Cannibal Coronal Mass Ejection
Part 1: The Black Sunrise / Part 2: Chaos Theory
V. A Walk Through Wonderland
VI. 2046
VII. The Cold Mirror / Fields Of Sorrow
VIII. In From the Futile Fields
IX. L'Épée Dans Mon Coeur
X. Checkmate 64
XI. To My Brethren
XII. Dementia
Multimedia Track: 2046 (video)
Approx. 55 minutes