Melodic Death Metal
Sweden 2004
Self-Released
Playing Time 17:02
Tracklist:
01. Zion Must Fall
02. Misanthropic Coil (MP3 downloadable on the site)
03. Lament of Innocence
04. Prelude to Extinction
Fallen Angels, led by the three relatives Roger (guitar), Robin (guitar), and Richard (vocals) Sjunnesson, already provided us two previous demos. ‚Fall from Heaven‘ (2002) was their first recorded demo and of arage quality. ‚Black Lotus‘, released in 2003, was of much better quality and clearly showed the direction Fallen Angels had chosen: melodic death metal. ‚Black Lotus‘ certainly pointed out the potential of the band, and so I was thrilled to hear another demo was going to be released.
Right from the beginning of ‚Extinction‘ you can hear an unmistakably apparent influence by bands such as Dark Tranquillity and In Flames This doesn’t mean they sound like every other melodic death metal band out there. They bring a mixture of pure melodic death metal combined with influences of their roots, power metal. The simplicity of power metal can be mainly found in the guitar lines. They are stripped down to the use of powerchords mostly. Although, the solos break throught that pattern sometimes. Then I wonder, why such short solos? It doesn’t bring out the abilities of the guitar players at full.
You can hear the keyboards are improved, becoming an essential part of the music. Throughout the demo there’s a lot of experimenting with the keyboards, especially in the songs ‚Lament of Innocence‘ (which starts out with a loopy keyboard sound) and ‚Misanthropic Coil‘ (where the keyboards provide the layered melody throughout the whole song). This keeps it interesting for the listener, it is also important when the guitars may start to sound repetitive. Thight and effective drums, but the double bass sometimes comes out a bit too soft, that’s probably because the production sound isn’t always above the average. Also the vocals can become somewhat boring after a while. They show little variation. Maybe something to work on.
Nevertheless, Fallen Angels definately knows how to compose good songs: catchy guitar riffs, tempo changes, varying song constructions, … It is all there, and that’s why ‚Extinction‘ is certainly a demo to check out! They have proven to be talented enough to make themselves differ from the mass. Hopefully their next release will finally be a professionally produced, full length cd!
8/10 Points – reviewed by Lyra
official Website: http://www.fallofangels.com