Ashen Eidolon --- Gallowbraid --- 2010 (Northern Silence Productions)
Recommended by mythsofmetal
Now this is an interesting one. First, it's an EP not an album, so only four tracks, although with two of them coming in at fourteen and eleven minutes each, it could almost be as long as an album. Secondly, it's by a band from Salt Lake City, and who knew they rocked, never mind played metal, in the City of Mormons (yeah, ignorant Irishman displays his total lack of understanding about a US city: sure, you can see leprechauns walking down any street in Dublin! Touche!) and thirdly, it's the first time I've listened to three choices fom a member. We've already heard mythsofmetal's Mondstille, but he also suggested yesterday's penultimate album from Forefather, and now he has the dubious honour of being the last album listened to in this section, and the only member to have all three of his suggestions reviewed.
I feel it's hardly likely that the band's record label will turn out to be symbolic of their music though, given that they're shown as playing melodic black metal! As I say, this is their debut, not even an album, but given the lengths of two of the four tracks it looks like they've put a lot of work into it. They've only been around since 2006, so are fairly new but given that this EP was released four years ago you would wonder if they plan to ever get an actual album out? Oh and no, I have no idea what the album title means, nor indeed the band name, unless it's something to do with the hangman's knot? None of which is really that important, as it's the music that will determine whether or not I like this band, and what future, if any, I see for them.
Well, there's certainly no easing into this as we start with a drum crash then a heavy guitar, and I must admit that despite what I expected I absolutely love the melody in the guitar. Even when the annoying scratchy vocal comes in --- as I expected it would --- it doesn't spoil my enjoyment of the music, which I am totally getting into and which sounds nothing like black metal. If anything it's more melodic or even AOR with a harder edge. I'm thinking the likes of Ten, Shadow Gallery, maybe Kamelot, but with dark vocals which are almost incongruous with the music. Oh yeah, this is the title track, and also the longest, that fourteen-minuter I spoke of. Must say, if it keeps like this I could certainly live through a quarter-hour of this! Interestingly, Gallowbraid are again a two-piece, with one guy doing everything except drums and the other, well, drumming. That angry, nasty vocal comes from Jake Rogers (not Dark Master Deathblood, then? No?) who rather amazingly is also responsible for that wonderful guitar melody I'm listening to. He also plays bass, um, flute and keyboards. Wow. Alex Rogers --- surely his brother?--- plays the drumkit and he doesn't just hammer on it like some drummers but actually makes his own kind of melody on the skins.
We're nearly halfway through the track now and I've nothing bad to say about it, other than the vocals but I'm sort of ignoring them and concentrating on that sweet guitar melody. Now, just as I say that, Alex comes in with his own vocal, much cleaner as a backup, and Jake slides into a rather beautiful and laidback acoustic line. These guys do surprise at every turn! Keyboards now, and they really fit in to the tune, a high, rippling, lilting sound to them that softens the track even more and yet at the same time gives it a sense of drama. This is just great, and much better than I had expected. Guitar goes more in the line of black metal now, hammering out the riffs and speeding up, but even at that I'm still digging it. Man.
Some superb Spanish guitar from Jake now, completely unaccompanied and without any vocals until its' taken over by electric and then Alex crashes in with the drums as the song romps towards the finish line with a guitar riff that's somewhere in the Maiden playbook but does not come across as any sort of a ripoff. Slowing down now in a doom metal sort of vibe, the vocal almost hissed and Jake adds in some mournful flute as an uncredited female voice comes out of nowhere, making the song almost ethereal and gentle. Maybe she
is credited: let me look. Yeah, there she is: Alison Vance. Big fast finish that returns to the original melody and I'm already a serious fan.
“Autumn I”, by comparison, is tiny, just over four minutes short, and is driven on a beautiful solo acoustic guitar from Jake, a soft, gentle, pastoral tune, choral vocals coming in after the first minute giving it kind of the feeling of a Viking chant or something. Very folk, very traditional. Flute now makes its entrance as the guitar stops, and dark, lush synth is the backdrop, no percussion whatever and so far, other than the choral ones noted, no vocals. Back to the acoustic guitar as the song heads into its final minute, framed by an
acapella chorus, almost a lament. Just superb.
“Oak and aspen” is the other long track, just over eleven minutes long, and it opens on again acoustic guitar, though a little more uptempo this time. Percussion cuts in early though, and some bright piano, as the tune sways along in a sort of balladesque way. This of course doesn't last (though with this band it seems you can never be sure) as the guitar kicks up into a harder vibe and Jake lets go with one of his screamy vocals. Though the tempo has quickened, the song still retains some of its pastoral feel, and the guitars are now more majestic than snarling. Now there's a faster group chant going on as the guitars batter away, though never losing the “m” word. We're now in the fifth minute, almost halfway through. Sort of a Dio-style marching thing coming through in the seventh minute, ramping up the tension a little, then what sounds like violin but is probably on the synth.
Another big male chorus takes the song as the guitars pound away, and we're heading into the final minutes with a really nice repeating riff on the guitar, some hard piano joining in as the song comes to an end, leaving us with only the one minute plus of “Autumn II” before the album is over. Another acoustic instrumental, it's really minimalistic and the more beautiful for it, but if I can make a small suggestion to an album that is almost perfect: had it been me I would have bookended the album with the two “Autumn” tracks, opening and closing with them. That said, this has been one hell of a ride and an unexpected pleasure.
TRACKLISTING
1. Ashen eidolon
2. Autumn I
3. Oak and aspen
4. Autumn II
A short word before I write the closing statement here. I'm intrigued but glad that Gallowbraid chose to use the word autumn, even though they're American. I have always found fall, however more descriptive of the season, to lack the lyrical beauty that autumn does. Fall does not for me conjure up the images that autumn does --- even its spelling is a little enigmatic --- and I think when fall is used in a song it makes much less of an impression. I mean, can you imagine “Forever fall”? To say nothing of Mostly Fall? No, I think autumn is the word that should be used in music, regardless of your geographical location, and it would seem these guys agree.
Having heard, and been really impressed by Gallowbraid, I can only hope they do eventually release an album, because I would definitely like to hear more from them. Other than the scratchy vocals, I saw nothing black metal about this music, but the melodic part was right on the money. This will either be the precursor to a glittering career for this band from Utah, or a forgotten gem, a footnote in the history of metal.
I earnestly hope that it turns out to be the former.