Band: Bereavement
Album: The Advent of Loss
Genre: Progressive Death Metal
Track List:
1. Exordium 1:47
2. Axis 7:04
3. Ascension 5:19
4. Eye of the Storm 4:30
5. Loss 5:04
6. Conviction 6:23
7. Wellspring 4:50
8. Ruin 1:18
Total playing time 36:19
There are quite a few things that are special about the band Bereavement. First, three of the four band members are indeed brothers (Jeremiah, Jonathan and Daniel Martnick), which is a peculiarity you don't get to see often. Second, "The Advent of Loss" is their first album and it is self-released and self-produced. Having all those three characteristics you expect with good reason a rookie, unprofessional release with very bad sound and production. But what was my surprise to encounter a band sounding a lot better that a considerably big bunch of sign bands and playing a form of metal in a way that most rising stars can not even dream to pull off. And third, the band is from the US, a country that is not known to produce good bands in the progressive death metal arena (except for Cynic of course).
Whenever one talks about progressive death metal, one can not avoid using as a sound-alike the great Swedish band Opeth. Although there are some similarities, in no way we're facing a clone. Bereavement's music is much simpler and the vocal performance is different in many ways.
After a calm, soothing intro, "The Advent of Loss" kicks in with a great opener: Axis. With that song the band give you a solid idea of what's to follow. The great crushing guitar makes its presence alone for a few seconds before the blasting drums get into the room with all the power follow by a death metal growl that quickly mounts to a black metal shriek. As your energy is getting higher and higher, a clean guitar takes the tempo to the ground and peace overwhelms the listener just for a moment. Then the power is back with a short guitar solo and some shrieks. And then, out of nowhere appear beautiful and melodic clean vocals. You look to the song's progress and only 2 minutes with sixteen seconds has passed by. How the fuck all that happened in so little time!!. That's when it hits you: this is going to be one hell of a ride. Then the guitar solo in the middle of the song finishes killing any doubt in your mind, this is a damn awesome album.
The rest of the songs keep adding to one's amazement and they are structure by using a similar formula. If this young band could create such a damn good album with all the limitations they had, I could only imaging what they will do when a label decides to sign the band up. It was a very pleasant surprise to discover this album. I hope that you will get it and enjoy it as much as I did and keep doing on a regular basis.
Download "The Advent of Loss" here
Song: "Axis"
enter the march of final days
relinquish your spirit
why deny sorrow? when you know it is purity
when you know it will never leave
deny all logic and thought
embrace emotion
left alone to question why
reach out and embrace the darkness inside
everything promised was a lie
now swept away with the receding tide
spend a lifetime in contemplation
the strange beauty of imperfection
forced to accept
the cost of choice
transcend all thought
and lift your voice
the physical effects of true regret
the false beauty in suffering
no release from this pain
you become your own bane
why fight sadness
when you know it will overwhelm
when you know within it you will drown
