The Internet is a wonderful thing if you are trying to start a band. An ad on a forum can bring together local musicians who wouldn't otherwise meet, or possibly kick-start a project where members are dotted around different continents. In Grief are fortunately all from Norway, and therefore can at least play live for their trouble, and for this album they have been snapped up by American label, Bombworks records, who are compiling a very interesting roster for themselves at the moment.
What this quintet offers up is a mixture of progressive and technical death metal with an emphasis on melodic and symphonic keyboard work and the odd smattering of guitar solos. Its interesting listening considering they have only been a unit since early last year and its certainly well written and performed if not exactly Earth shattering.
The introductory track 'Darkening Horizon' is a nice slice of darkly symphonic keyboard work that would stand well on its own on a cold meat industry sampler, which is probably a good indication as to some of the progressive influences on the record. 'I Am' builds the anticipation initially but over the course of the seven minutes of the track, I find myself underwhelmed by the production quality which dulls the quality of the song - It is an issue that comes back to haunt each track, I don't know if it would matter as much if the tracks were shorter or if it was an EP. 'Invited War' has a very interesting intro to it, but even with the use of spacey keyboard effects it sounds very flat throughout. 'Modern Truth' has another interesting intro and fairs a little better than the previous track with it's strong lead riff and ambient electronic embellishments it is a better indication of what the band are capable of. The title track 'Deserted Soul' sounds a lot more progressive from the outset and more than makes up for what feels again like a pretty flat mix, with some interesting vocal work and a good head-banging riff. 'In The End', while it is definitely one of the more accomplished tracks on the album it does feel somewhat drawn out at eight minutes long, which I think robs it of momentum in the early part. 'Weak' opens with keyboard sounds that sound very out dated – think early Cradle of Filth.. like really early – it does come off as the opposite of progressive really, and it isn't helped by continuing past the logical end point of the track.
Ultimately this is a decent enough debut album by a band who have not been together long, but who certainly know their stuff when it comes to writing songs. My one major criticism throughout though is the production – I think a little more time at the mixing desk for some spit and polish would have made this a lot stronger.
http://ingriefmetal.webs.com
http://www.myspace.com/ingrief
