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I'll admit, the the two reasons I checked out this band were because I saw the name, TRUE. So simple, it made it stand out. But the main draw was the odd as hell cover art. Figured there has to be something unique and different if a band is going to use a classical composers face and then mess with his eyeballs (I guess this is swapping the opposite sides of the face or using two separate faces, right?). Anyways, if that was the intent, bravo, it worked on me.
Musically, what you have here is a fairly unique take on melodic death metal, with a healthy dose of the Croatian national instrument, the tambura thrown into the mix. At first listen it just felt like standard melo death with an interesting twist (which isn't a bad thing by any means). But after repeated listens I really warmed up to what they were doing. It feels like a mix of classic death metal fused with modern influences, yet never copying any one specific band (past or present). And for whatever reason there is an indiscernible quality to the whole album. Production is spot on, every instrument is well balanced against the others without anything dominating the mix. I went from "this is not a bad start" to "damn, this is a mighty fine album indeed".
Their debut album, Still Life, was released in 2010 (and also available on Bandcamp) and is more of a crusty death/grind with less tambura in it.
[Go to the post to view the Bandcamp player]
Four members of this band are in Johann Wolfgang Pozoj (neither of their albums are on Bandcamp, which is a shame).
ReplyDeleteYeah I saw that, but never got around to checking them out.
ReplyDeleteWhat say you ?
Both albums are definitely worth a listen.
DeleteI dig it, but I'm trying to figure out how I feel about that curveball they throw with "First Kiss of Love." They lyrics are pure schmaltz.
ReplyDeleteYeah, that crooning and
Delete"When age chills the blood, when our pleasures are past
For years fleet away with the wings of the dove
The dearest remembrance will still be the last,
Our sweetest memorial, the first kiss of love."
The rest is good stuff though.
TRUE kicks ass, one of best bands in Croatian scene. Always pushing it further and it never fails. That happens when punks play metal :D
ReplyDeleteAs big_red mentioned J.W. Pozoj is also beautiful piece of art. Their latest album (Escape of Pozoj) is crusty/avant-garde/black/ambient/allsortofshit masterpiece. Check it out, I belive it won't disappoint you.
The guy on the cover has Level 10 Down Syndrome. The music's pretty cool, though.
ReplyDeleteexcellent stuff! not typically a fan of death metal "singing" but there are times, as in this release, that it fits. perfectly. LOVE the tambura... makes this unique. nice find and share.
ReplyDeleteYeah, the tambura stuff works really well. Of course it helps that it is grafted onto a solid set of songs.
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