England's Eden Maine might appear all bluster and bark from first look: a blood-red album cover and song titles which hit on everything from Satan to homicide to strongly-worded exhortations not to breathe. It seems a little bit contrived and postured. But once past the introductory wispiness of "Solstitium," Eden Maine's bite becomes painfully apparent. And yet the bark persists.The vocals are a barked scream which sometimes descends into a more conventional yell, the disparity between the two people making the yell seem altogether dulcet. Around all the throatiness is some calculated and masterful metal. The music is begotten from the Hydra Head records genealogy, more in line with the Converge camp than with bands who have incorporated a little more irony into their themes (consider Botch's song titles, for instance; especially that one about C. Thomas Howell).
Eden Maine want everybody to truly believe that the sky is falling, the earth is cracking, and that they are the minstrels of the Reckoning. Listening to "Murder Was Her Name" might not bring salvation, but it could genuinely get someone energized enough to kick Satan or Jesus in the balls before you they, (depending on which side they're on). The drums alone pulsate with the terminal velocity of Sisyphus' rock as it falls down each successive hill.
The iron maiden into which Eden Maine slip occasionally is that they rely too heavily on unimaginative guitar parts to underscore the music. When this happens, songs begin to sound the same. The contra-case is a song like "The Hunter and the Hunted," which begins with precisely the kind of infectious noodling you want to hear from this band and retains the theme throughout the song, falling back on it in moments of brave recapitulation. On the other hand, "Do Not Move a Muscle, Do Not Breathe a Word" exhausts the listener in a dogged repetition on lines to the point where both band and listener are exasperated and breathing hard. "The Atheist Light" goes as far as to bring a cello into the mixture, though this instrumental song never really digs deep enough into the regions of Tartarus which the other songs strive for. It's too sugary and saccharine, and we all know Cerberus can't be tempted with cotton candy: something with meat is needed.
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