Brigantia, Council of Tanith, & Winterburst

May 14, 2010

CHRIS

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Brigantia - The Chronic Argonauts

Release Date:  February 15, 2010
Band Self Released

TRACK LISTING:
1. Time Machine of Doom   2. Prisoner   3. The Eyes of Lugosi 
-    Total playing time: 21:00

Brigantia hails from Ireland and provides an old-school doom metal offering in its second demo titled The Chronic Argonauts.

The trio meshes some seriously heavy doom metal with a mix of so-so vocals that at times just don’t seem to fit the music. First, they get lost in the mix where the instruments overpower the vocal tracks to the point of annoyance. This doesn’t help the fact that the vocals, to my ears, are just uninspired and tired-sounding. If this were an instrumental demo I’d love it all over, heralding back to a Volume 4­-era Sabbath. The Iommi-esque guitar tones and booming bass just pound into your head. Again, the vocals are what sadly kill the overall feel for me. At times they appear more parody than dread-filled. 

The production tends to overpower the vocals in the mix; it’s also bass-heavy to the point it tends to bury the drums ever slightly. The song lyrics aren’t bad either, with “Eyes of Lugosi” being overtly interesting throughout.

While the demo has well-crafted tunes that are definitely heavy doom to a high degree, The Chronic Argonauts just misses a couple of key elements to grade high. Hopefully the band might bounce back nicely with its next offering. They should be watched, but I’m thinking the next offering should fare a bit better in its production and vocal delivery to resonate for the long haul.    

Winterburst - Winterburst

Release Date:  January 14, 2010
Band Self Released

TRACK LISTING: 1. Son Of Mars, 2. The Sign Of The Black Ivy, 3. Enthronement Ceremony, 4. The 7th Circle, 5. Circle Of Despair, 6. The Blessing Of The Evil  
-    Total playing time: 35:00

France offers up some more good black metal for the masses to enjoy.

France’s black metal outfit Winterburst is a very untypical symphonic band. While “symphonic” usually relies heavily on the keys, Winterburst’s first demo has a real guitar punch to it. The guitars and keyboards mesh so nicely that it’s a pleasure to hear a true symphonic effort like this actually surprise and entertain me. It’s real black metal with a true dark feel throughout.

“Son of Mars” has an amazing bite to it that sets up the rest of the demo perfectly. When the keys finish their intro for “The Sign of the Black Ivy” and the guitars kick in it’s just a great feeling of true black magic emitting from your speakers. As far as the production goes, the instruments mix nicely with little to no overpowering going on. The vocals are slightly down in the mix, but the ethereal breathy hiss to them makes the experience really enjoyable. Some modern black metal is still being done right and it’s our job to seek it out. I really like this band and this demo.

For a first effort this demo is one you should seek out and play loud; enjoy the magic therein. It’s a solid effort from a band that could become a well-known name given time. Check out these guys on both MySpace and Facebook.

Council of Tanith - Council of Tanith

Release Date:  September 12, 2009
Band Self Released

TRACK LISTING:
1. Dead Man's Grip  2. Cross of Bones  3. Lone Wolf
-    Total playing time: 15:19

Ireland’s Council of Tanith issues its second demo, a self-titled effort and manages to hit like a brick to the head right out of the gate. Trudging through a doom-laden swamp of chords like a wheelbarrow through molasses, Council of Tanith is three songs of above-average Hour of 13-esque down-tempo mastery that changes quickly throughout and shows a true grasp of the brick-to-the-forehead brooding that makes the doom genre so vital and relevant.

The songs are low, somber mixes of good music to just sit back and enjoy, possibly while watching Fall of the House of Usher with the sound muted. Imagine Vincent Price’s voiceless antics backed by this soundtrack and you might enjoy both a bit more than usual. That’s not to say that Council of Tanith’s music is evil like the Birmingham boys of old, but it does have a low, desperate vibe to it that is both charming and heavy as all get out. Listening to “Lone Wolf” is enough to cause random headbanging. The other two tracks are just as interesting and thick, creating that nice wall of sound that seems impenetrable. Vocally, Anthony McGee has the balance of a low-range Messiah Marconi and Warning’s Pat Walker, competent enhancements for the tunes themselves.  

Fans of Cathedral, The Obsessed, Reverend Bizarre and St. Vitus would surely dig these guys, a band that knows well what doom metal fans long for and delivers within the schematic of a trio of hard-to-ignore tunes. This is solid Irish metal to savor with your Guinness.  

DOWNLOAD The Chronic Argonauts FREE from the band's  myspace page (click on link above).

Order Winterburst from the band through their myspace page (click on link above).

DOWNLOAD Council of Tanith FREE from the band's  myspace page (click on link above).

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