The Metal Times
Christian Wilson, Obsidian Rose Entertainment
Band Review #5
Band: Self Imposed Exile
Track(s): Mountainside EP
Self imposed exile is a 5 piece prog. blackened death metal band Hailing from Streator Illinois. This review will be covering their debut EP titled "Mountainside", which features tracks: Anchor, Calling of the Haunted, Mountainside, Breaking of the Circle, Fire Cleansed, Necessary Regression. Being a prog blackened death metal band, i went into this EP expecting a full frontal assault, just raw energy being hurled my war in an intense barrage of blast beats and shreds. However, what I got was very different, instead it was an elegant and melodic sound that still carried the weight of power I was expecting and it was wonderfully surprising. It's not all the time that you can listen to a band like this and still find the beauty in how well the sounds are put together. 'This all truly came to light in the second and third track on the EP, "Calling of the Haunted" and title track "Mountainside". Both are very strong melodic pieces that i personally find as the standouts of this EP, as they do everything extremely well. The vocals hold that raw rougher sound that makes this genre special, which is easy to mess up and if done wrong would deter someone away from listening to blackened death metal, however these guys absolutely nail it on the head and they remain true to form, while also being very easy to listen to, and would make a good starting point for anyone interested in the genre for the first time. Jumping over to the guitars, they are timed exceptionally well and you can tell how well they click together, notably in title track "Mountainside" as everything is timed to precision that compliments other aspects of the songs very well. Moving over to drums, we're going to point out and bring up "Breaking of the circle". This one didn't stand out enough for me personally to name it as a favourite, however it is important to note due to the technical prowess on the drums. Although it isn't a constant barrage of blast beats or anything similar, you still feel every bit of power behind each hit and it just goes to show that you don't have to play lightning quick to show your stuff. In this track, we got a more paced out, melodic sound that holds well and really accents the transitions on guitar.
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