Stone Wings
Bird of Stone Wings (CD) 2003 Hog Metal Records
This band formerly released the album 'Dreamscapes' under the name Elysium. Whereas the previous album consisted of high quality atmospheric doomdeath, this time around the main word would be "variety". In general, Stone Wings continues writing very atmospheric music, but next to the brick-heavy doom laden tracks, also some more uptempo songs with a more gothic/blackish feel to them are present. Stone Wings kept their strong points, but have improved significantly on other points. The guitar work and the rough grunts of vocalist Jamie are still top notch, but the drum sound has taken a huge leap forward. Keyboard parts still support the other instruments in the more atmospheric parts, but in comparison to the last one, this album is more guitar-oriented. Compared to the band`s previous releases, the slow songs are slower and the fast songs are faster. The softer melodic parts became more balanced, whereas in faster parts (see the almost blackish 'Breaching the Castle Wall') the guitar work became more aggressive. The female vocals provided by Avrigus' Judy Chiara on the last album, are no longer present on this one, leaving more room to Jamie's excellent grunts. A wider scope of music that definitely enhances the listening pleasure. Songs like 'Ulcer Man' or 'Dreamscape' remind of the heavy doomdeath that was present on the first album, with more atmospheric ('By Hell of Highwater') or entrancing ('Wanderlust') songs in between. And as far as doom goes, title track 'Bird of Stone Wings' is an absolute massive and monolithic slab of concrete that drags on like a fridge being dragged over a grinding plate. Excellent. For information contact the band through: Aragorn666@bigpond.com.	1. Ulcer Man 2. By Hell of Highwater 3. Wanderlust 4. Breaching the Castle Wall 5. Dreamscape 6. The Last Hand 7. Bird of Stone Wings Approx. 69 minutes
Reviewed by: Heiko Isselee