Reviews : Albums : A Gruesome Find, "The Fire That Burns in Hell"
Email the reviewerA Gruesome Find, "The Fire That Burns in Hell"
One of the growing number of American black metal bands, A Gruesome Find have the ability to write both truly evil and truly cheesy music. Luckily, the former is more prevalent on their debut, "The Fire that Burns in Hell."
The title track stands out as a good example of what the band should be going for; fast, melodic black metal, foregoing those annoying keyboards so many acts employ these days. The production is good; everything is clearly audible and at just the right level. Vocalist Naberius employs a pretty standard (though somewhat raspy) growl and throws in some lower grunts for good measure. The quartet is capable of some extremely heavy sections as well as the standard blasting black metal; check out the beginning of "Blasphemous Bloodstorm" to see what I mean. A Gruesome Find has a lot going for them, but they manage to lose momentum a couple times, for a very specific reason.
Here's the problem; sections like the intro to "Summoning the Nocturnal Spirit" and the one about four and a half minutes into "When Darkness Falls" have got to go. The keyboard work here is not atmospheric; it is not evil sounding; it doesn't even fit in well with the songs. Instead, it takes away from the aggression A Gruesome Find manage to exude and give the entire release a cheesy, Dimmu-ish feeling? Ugh. Also, the keyboard sections have a tendency to drag out for too long, turning a solid four minute track into a seven minute test of listening endurance.
Let's recap: the songs on "The Fire that Burns in Hell" are produced well, include some decent melodies, are generally pretty aggressive, and can get very heavy at times ? these are all good things. The keyboards detract from it all ? this is a bad thing. Verdict: ditch the keys and we'll talk; as it stands, "The Fire that Burns in Hell" is a decent release which could have been good had Lord Mininger shown a little more restraint with his synths.
Standout Tracks The Fire that Burns in Hell |
