Just through the door for review I have a double compilation of ‘beauty and brutality’ via Femme Metal. Somehow I doubt anything is quite as brutal as this female fronted act from Canada. This is death metal with a lady singer Alxs Ness and let’s put it this way, she sounds far from ladylike as she growls and rasps through her parts. Now it’s all well and good singing like this when you are a woman and you could mention the obvious names who I am not even going to, as you get sick of hearing of them when it comes to reviewing bands like this. Alxs is apparently a metal scribe herself and the biog here states she has interviewed the likes of Cannibal Corpse, Testament and that very band I am at pains not to refer to.
This seven track half hour CD certainly did not blow me away on the first couple of listens. To be fair I am a picky so and so when it comes to death metal and there was a distinct feel of having heard it all before when it came to this. I still have that feeling but this is certainly growing on me. I have to admit that this is not due to the singer though and I do find lack of range and character in her vocals making this a little on the stagnant side. However instrumentally this is a different affair as it is obvious the band can play and they add a technical edge to proceedings which is pretty impressive.
There is an underlying groove and whilst brutal this is also pretty accessible and when I mention technicality it is subtle but clever, rather than an all out exercise in head melting flamboyance which in itself can be utterly pretentious. I do like the fact that solos are flung out with aplomb and the bass as well can be nice and thick in the mix. This is an album that has plenty going on in it and it does keep the interest levels up but for me there is a spark missing. Still that’s not to say that this unsigned band won’t be able to build upon the reputation they are obviously getting now having played with the likes of Satyricon, Chthonic and Divinity, the first two of these perhaps being an odd match. So although nothing to write home about quite yet, there is plenty of scope here for the future.
http://www.myspace.com/withoutmercyband
