Wall Of The Eyeless

Through Emptiness (demo)

Written by: MST on 26/09/2012 19:25:45

Wall Of The Eyeless is a duo consisting of guitarist, bassist and vocalist SL from Russia and drummer Simon from Sweden. The two met when SL came to Sweden to study. SL had previously had no luck finding people to form a band with in his home country, but when he met Simon at Helsjön Folkhögskola, they decided to write music together. "Through Emptiness", the duo's first demo, was recorded at the school.

There are good and bad things to say about this demo. Firstly, it's good to see a young band that doesn't sound like everybody else. "Through Emptiness" offers plenty of creativity and ideas not taken directly from other bands. The music is based on standard death metal leaning towards the old school kind, with some thrashy riffs and drum patterns thrown in for good measure. The vocals are growled throughout the entirety of the demo, but they're not very good, and it sounds like SL needs some practise in that department. His guitar skills are a lot more satisfactory though, as his standard riffs are interesting while his solos border on excellent. The drumming is definitely competent but nothing to write home about.

What makes "Through Emptiness" special though is the progressive nature of the music. The four songs present on the demo are generally longer than typical songs in the genre, and the song structures are more complex than you'd expect from a demo like this. Death metal riffing, drums and vocals are interrupted by long sections of great solos, instrumental parts and acoustic guitar play, all ingredients which make for a captivating listen. The quality of the instrumental parts of the demo makes me think that Wall Of The Eyeless would work better as an instrumental band.

Where "Through Emptiness" falls short is in the production. The demo suffers enormously from the sound quality of the vocals and, especially, the guitars. There's too much static in the background, and it ruins some of what had otherwise been a positive surprise for me. The instrumental prowess showcased here deserves a better production. Better production and better vocals (or maybe none at all?) would make "Through Emptiness" a great debut demo. There's lots of promise to be heard here, and I look forward to hearing what these two gentlemen have in store for me next time.

7

Download: Do We Belong Here?, Wall Of The Eyeless, The Rain Song
For The Fans Of: Morbid Angel, Opeth
Listen: Facebook

Release date: 31.12.2011
Self-Released

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