Tuesday 6 March 2012

Heavy Metal New Blood EP Review : Orylyus - Stories Heard... Yet Not Recalled

Orylyus - Stories Heard... Yet Not Recalled
Rating: 8.5/10

The EP opens with an slow atmospheric into "Apraxia" which while featuring sounds of a storm ironically turns out to be the calm before the storm...

Prepare yourselves for the fast paced shredding, pounding percussion and brutal vocals to come.

The title track "Stories Heard... Yet Not Recalled" and "Chaotic Dreamsphere" both prominently feature the twin guitars and contain some decent guitar solos, although I have to say the solo on "Chaotic Dreamsphere" is by far my favourite.

Brutal vocals underpin the EP, with well controlled screaming that complements rather than over-powers the music. All tracks with the exception of the title track feature some clean vocals as well, these are done well and in the right places, which combined with the depth of the supporting music do not detract from the heaviness of the album and avoid falling into the rigid verse chorus structure that sometimes appears in tracks with a mixture of clean and growling vocals.

The percussion and keys should not be forgotten, both add to the music in different ways with the drums and bass keeping the wall of heaviness going and the keys providing an excellent contrast in places.

"Chaotic Dreamsphere" is definitely my favourite track on the album as it manages to showcase all the instruments without sounding too cluttered and of course the vocals both brutal and clean pull the whole sound together, I've already mentioned the guitar solo but worth pointing out again!

My only criticism of the entire EP is the placement of the interlude "Awakening" in the middle of the EP. While it can't be denied it is a beautifully executed piece featuring the keys with a soft drum backing, the rest of the EP is so intense that for me this breaks the whole energy slightly. I'm torn as I do like the instrumental track but feel it may have served the EP better incorporated in the intro rather than in the middle of the EP.

That said I really enjoyed the energy, intensity and skill on this EP and it left me the way a good EP should... reaching for the play button to listen again.

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Track Listing:

1. Apraxia (All is Silent)
2. Stories Heard... Yet Not Recalled
3. Eyes of the Desired (Erotomaniac)
4. The Awakening
5. Chaotic Dreamsphere
6. Mans Fall From Grace