ELYSIAN BORN - EP review added 23rd September 2010
EP Review: Magisterium EP (2010)
For fans of: Progressive Death Metal... and big sound
Elysian Born - Ryan Hardiman on drums, Ash Nichols and Rob Graney on guitar, Pat Blake on vocals, and Alex Norman on bass - hail from Worcestershire in the UK. They've been together a few years already, but Magisterium - produced at SRP Studios by Edward Perks and Duncan Powell, Mastered by Paul White - marks their first proper release.
This is still a young band, but they make a noise way beyond their years. There is a power and depth to the music on the EP that belies the fact these guys are still too young to drink in some countries.
The rhythm section is a thunderstorm in Satan's back garden, the guitars are complex, fast, and damn impressive. Pat Blake's vocals - both clean and throaty - are a perfect match for the intensity of the musicianship. Okay, he wouldn't have got a gig with Stock, Aitken and Waterman if he'd been alive back in the 1980s, but here he sounds fantastic.
The title track kicks things off, and to my ears it's the weakest track on the EP. Not bad, simply not as good as the others. 'Black Slate' is much better, featuring a more dramatic structure, bigger hits of bass and more memorable progressions. Even the central quiet section seems to work. 'The Righteous' cranks it up another notch or two. The underlying riffs are HUGE. The track will slay live. 'Curse Your Name' is the most progressive of the tracks, and contains some of the best moments on the EP. As a whole it's perhaps not as good as tracks 2 and 3, but it's still an epic experience.
The Magisterium EP is a fine debut from Elysian Born. If the guys can produce a full length that moves the game on a few steps from this, it could destroy the planet.
Check out... All of it.
Track List:
01. Magisterium
02. Black Slate
03. The Righteous
04. Curse Your Name
Artist's website(s): MySpace | Facebook
