Post by The Centurion on Jul 30, 2006 16:11:53 GMT -5
Lo Ruhamah-Lo Ruhamah
Released-2006
Label-Bombworks Records
Style-Death/Black Metal
So I was at Cornerstone this year looking around the Blastbeats used Cd section(where I scored some awsome Cd's I might add). Who should I meet there but David Bixler of Bombworks Records. David was so happy to see me that he pulled out a gun and aimed it at my face and said if I didnt buy the Lo Ruhamah CD that he would blow my brains out. Actually none of that is true. David did tell me though that if I bought this 4 song CD from this talented metal band from Springfield Missouri that I would love it immensely. I only got to listen to the disc once while I was at the fest and had the pleasure of seeing the band perform live. Their live set was nice and relaxing to watch. I was not familiar with the material at the time though, So I have no idea what songs were played. Anyways I got home and really had some time to enjoy this little EP. The whole thing clocks 21 minutes and has three songs and one instrumental. The production is top notch for this genre and I found no problems with it. The packaging is nice with a fully black cover with a white circled cross in the middle. The insert contains all the lyrics and various scenes from a graveyard. There is even a live picture of the band in addition to the professional band photo in the centerfold.
What we have here is a good mixture of death and black metal. The song Burden of Reason kicks us off with a melodic introduction that is broken apart by a fast surge of very brutal but melodic black metal. The vocals consist of a trade off between death and black metal grunts and shrieks. The whole experience is just intense. One cool thing is the bass playing that is very skillful and audible. Then in the middle of the song there is a short melodic break. It is extremely captivating and moving, I just wish there was more of it. The melodic nature of the songs does not sacrifice any heavyness though. The next song The Birthright of Cain sets the standard even higher for this CD with its folky introduction to its super crushing and melodic chorus. The trade off of death and black metal vocals is superb. There is another clean folky break in this song too. It kind of reminds me some of the stuff that Opeth got so famous for. I finished this song wanting more. In Mornings Arms is an instrumental featuring some soothing guitar work. There is a piano worked in as well. Be careful or it may just lul you to sleep. The closer He Awoke and Came to Me While I Was Standing Shiva wakes you from a deep sleep and blasts you in the face with a heavy and grinding riff with blastbeats a flyin. The melody of the song becomes aparent after about 30 seconds and it falls back in line with the first two songs. The riff on this song reminds me the most of Opeth, but this is much more extreme and heavy than anything currently done by Opeth. Towards the end of the song there are some nice clean vocals added in for effect. I'd love to hear more of these in later releases. For a four song CD this is a stunning peice of work. For a band just starting out this is astounding. My only real complaint about this release is the black metal shrieks. They are extremely hard to understand and it sounds like he's not really pronouncing his words properly. This makes it very hard to follow along with the lyrics in the insert.
Speaking of lyrics. This CD seems to be sort of a concept album, or maybe an exploration of faith. The first song speaks about doubting the existance of God and relying on yourself. The Birthright of Cain finds the storyteller seeking God's advice and counsel but feeling as if he's still gotten no response. Finally after analyzing his doubt and overcoming his fear the Lord finds him in the song He Awoke and Came to Me While I was Standing Shiva. The lyrics are beautifully crafted and really make the listener think. I cannot wait to hear a full lenght record.
Reviewed by Dan
Released-2006
Label-Bombworks Records
Style-Death/Black Metal
So I was at Cornerstone this year looking around the Blastbeats used Cd section(where I scored some awsome Cd's I might add). Who should I meet there but David Bixler of Bombworks Records. David was so happy to see me that he pulled out a gun and aimed it at my face and said if I didnt buy the Lo Ruhamah CD that he would blow my brains out. Actually none of that is true. David did tell me though that if I bought this 4 song CD from this talented metal band from Springfield Missouri that I would love it immensely. I only got to listen to the disc once while I was at the fest and had the pleasure of seeing the band perform live. Their live set was nice and relaxing to watch. I was not familiar with the material at the time though, So I have no idea what songs were played. Anyways I got home and really had some time to enjoy this little EP. The whole thing clocks 21 minutes and has three songs and one instrumental. The production is top notch for this genre and I found no problems with it. The packaging is nice with a fully black cover with a white circled cross in the middle. The insert contains all the lyrics and various scenes from a graveyard. There is even a live picture of the band in addition to the professional band photo in the centerfold.
What we have here is a good mixture of death and black metal. The song Burden of Reason kicks us off with a melodic introduction that is broken apart by a fast surge of very brutal but melodic black metal. The vocals consist of a trade off between death and black metal grunts and shrieks. The whole experience is just intense. One cool thing is the bass playing that is very skillful and audible. Then in the middle of the song there is a short melodic break. It is extremely captivating and moving, I just wish there was more of it. The melodic nature of the songs does not sacrifice any heavyness though. The next song The Birthright of Cain sets the standard even higher for this CD with its folky introduction to its super crushing and melodic chorus. The trade off of death and black metal vocals is superb. There is another clean folky break in this song too. It kind of reminds me some of the stuff that Opeth got so famous for. I finished this song wanting more. In Mornings Arms is an instrumental featuring some soothing guitar work. There is a piano worked in as well. Be careful or it may just lul you to sleep. The closer He Awoke and Came to Me While I Was Standing Shiva wakes you from a deep sleep and blasts you in the face with a heavy and grinding riff with blastbeats a flyin. The melody of the song becomes aparent after about 30 seconds and it falls back in line with the first two songs. The riff on this song reminds me the most of Opeth, but this is much more extreme and heavy than anything currently done by Opeth. Towards the end of the song there are some nice clean vocals added in for effect. I'd love to hear more of these in later releases. For a four song CD this is a stunning peice of work. For a band just starting out this is astounding. My only real complaint about this release is the black metal shrieks. They are extremely hard to understand and it sounds like he's not really pronouncing his words properly. This makes it very hard to follow along with the lyrics in the insert.
Speaking of lyrics. This CD seems to be sort of a concept album, or maybe an exploration of faith. The first song speaks about doubting the existance of God and relying on yourself. The Birthright of Cain finds the storyteller seeking God's advice and counsel but feeling as if he's still gotten no response. Finally after analyzing his doubt and overcoming his fear the Lord finds him in the song He Awoke and Came to Me While I was Standing Shiva. The lyrics are beautifully crafted and really make the listener think. I cannot wait to hear a full lenght record.
Reviewed by Dan