Grayceon
"This Grand Show" CD
Vendlus Records
Genre: metal, progressive metal
San Francisco, USA
Nov 11, 2008 |
This Grand Show indeed. Grayceon makes
this record into a veritable circus of metal, rendering epics in
progressive metal and weaving them together with a healthy dose of
electric cello. The result is a hefty album in five songs, although
"movements" is perhaps more apt. The record starts with a great
build-up in "It Begins, and So It Ends," which sounds as if it could
accompany the opening scenes of a film about a nautical voyage that
takes an unexpected turn or five. There is the sense of an impending
epic - an extended, tumultuous journey over mercurial waters.
The band's use of electric cello distinguishes them from many other
metal bands, lending their already-hefty songs a sense of magnitude
and emotional depth. Eleven minute "Still the Desert" seems to typify
Grayceon's sound; power chords give way to more introspective lulls,
resulting in a dynamic and surprisingly infectious musical adventure.
Twenty minute "Sleep" is the record's sprawling centrepiece, a rapidly
metamorphosing odyssey that spends most of its time broodingly
building to its satisfying climaxes. It is the most introspective
piece on This Grand Show, and along with
"Sleep" the most ultimately enjoyable.
As it stands, This Grand Show lives up to
its title and kicks some pretty serious ass to boot. Fans of Opeth and
other progressive metal bands will find a lot to sink their teeth into
on Grayceon's sophomore full-length.
grayceon's
myspace
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Matt Shimmer
[Vitals: 5 tracks, distributed by
the
label,
released Nov 11, 2008] |
