Post by Deleted on May 9, 2016 19:17:33 GMT -6
The Slave Eye - Black Rust
Year: 2016
Genre: Black Metal
Odds are that this little two-track demo will slip under the radar for most Christian metal fans, even the ones who are pretty active in the CBM scene. This is a tragedy, as The Slave Eye is the most promising new act I've heard in a while. Perhaps it is inaccurate to describe this band as CBM, considering that the lyrics aren't very straightforward and the band doesn't seem to have labeled themselves as Christian. However, the members are from Renascent (a Christian melodic death metal band) and references to Christianity are included in Black Rust's lyrics, so this should be a safe listen for anyone in our scene.
The Slave Eye presents us with just under ten minutes of fast, complicated, melodic black metal. The production is superb; don't let the word "demo" make you think that it's bad. The guitars have several layers and it's mixed extremely well so that you can hear everything. Everything has an adequate volume; no component of the music drowns out any other. Many other demos seem to struggle with the mixing and production, but The Slave Eye got it just right.
The music itself is even better than its production. The guitarwork is varied enough and complicated enough to keep my interest, but it is also memorable, and I love it when bands can accomplish both. I found myself singing some of these riffs in my head, even after I had only listened to the songs once or twice. This is definitely melodic black metal as I said before, but it doesn't hold back at all. The vocals are excellent growls done in exactly one of my favorite styles - an aggressive, angry, mid-pitched growl. That's not the only style that's used, though. There's a part towards the end of "Black Stone Idol" that features a more death metal-style, low growl. "Gorgon Tongue" has a more subdued, distorted shriek that you sometimes hear during the verses, and it helps create a mysterious, dark atmosphere. There aren't many other atmospheric elements on this demo, but that's fine, as this style of black metal doesn't really need it. The drumming also has an adequate amount of variance and doesn't feel too repetitive at all. It sometimes gets a little simplistic, but it still matches the music when it does.
The composition of the two songs is perfect, featuring tempo changes that prevent things from becoming monotonous. "Black Stone Idol" is mostly fast but slows down for a brief section in the middle, and "Gorgon Tongue" is a mid-paced song. The demo has excellent energy and keeps my attention extremely well. I was hooked from the very first riff.
This is something that you don't want to miss. Make sure you give it a listen. I cannot wait for The Slave Eye to put out a full-length.
92/100
-CrimsonWarrior
Buy/stream on Bandcamp:
theslaveeye.bandcamp.com/album/black-rust
Year: 2016
Genre: Black Metal
Odds are that this little two-track demo will slip under the radar for most Christian metal fans, even the ones who are pretty active in the CBM scene. This is a tragedy, as The Slave Eye is the most promising new act I've heard in a while. Perhaps it is inaccurate to describe this band as CBM, considering that the lyrics aren't very straightforward and the band doesn't seem to have labeled themselves as Christian. However, the members are from Renascent (a Christian melodic death metal band) and references to Christianity are included in Black Rust's lyrics, so this should be a safe listen for anyone in our scene.
The Slave Eye presents us with just under ten minutes of fast, complicated, melodic black metal. The production is superb; don't let the word "demo" make you think that it's bad. The guitars have several layers and it's mixed extremely well so that you can hear everything. Everything has an adequate volume; no component of the music drowns out any other. Many other demos seem to struggle with the mixing and production, but The Slave Eye got it just right.
The music itself is even better than its production. The guitarwork is varied enough and complicated enough to keep my interest, but it is also memorable, and I love it when bands can accomplish both. I found myself singing some of these riffs in my head, even after I had only listened to the songs once or twice. This is definitely melodic black metal as I said before, but it doesn't hold back at all. The vocals are excellent growls done in exactly one of my favorite styles - an aggressive, angry, mid-pitched growl. That's not the only style that's used, though. There's a part towards the end of "Black Stone Idol" that features a more death metal-style, low growl. "Gorgon Tongue" has a more subdued, distorted shriek that you sometimes hear during the verses, and it helps create a mysterious, dark atmosphere. There aren't many other atmospheric elements on this demo, but that's fine, as this style of black metal doesn't really need it. The drumming also has an adequate amount of variance and doesn't feel too repetitive at all. It sometimes gets a little simplistic, but it still matches the music when it does.
The composition of the two songs is perfect, featuring tempo changes that prevent things from becoming monotonous. "Black Stone Idol" is mostly fast but slows down for a brief section in the middle, and "Gorgon Tongue" is a mid-paced song. The demo has excellent energy and keeps my attention extremely well. I was hooked from the very first riff.
This is something that you don't want to miss. Make sure you give it a listen. I cannot wait for The Slave Eye to put out a full-length.
92/100
-CrimsonWarrior
Buy/stream on Bandcamp:
theslaveeye.bandcamp.com/album/black-rust