GREYSWAN: Thought “ Tormented Minds CD Emotional-Gothic Metal. ANATHEMA, KATATONIA etc.

Description

TRACK LISTING
1. Thought-Tormented Minds 0:41
2. Questions 5:48
3. Sleepless Night 8:12
4. Lost Smiles 4:53
5. This Gloomy Sickness 6:57
6. We’ll Never Be 6:55
7. Witness Of A Better Time 6:06
8. Afraid To Go On, Afraid To Come Back 8:00
Total time: 47:36

Debut album by Italian band GREYSWAN (have produced two demos in the past) and a very welcomed one indeed! A guitar-oriented, gloomy-“gothic†metal album, with keys and effects-loops (great ideas on that part!) in the background “darkening†the atmosphere. Great mid-tempo songs, with well worked bass and drum lines. As expected vocals (though a bit low in the mix) and lead guitars are the protagonists. All wrapped up with an excellent sound production that ‘flattersâ the band. I was quite happily surprised by this record at first but it failed to keep me thrilled to the end…especially because of the similarities with ANATHEMA, KATATONIA etc. but then again everyone has influences… So I think this is a sincere effort and it seems the band have successfully put in a lot of heart and inspiration in it. And the result is beautiful…

the first full-lenght by Greyswan: -Thought -“ Tormented Minds-… a casket of soft melodies, dreaming and charming that merge into melancholic sensations to create one of the best works in the Italian Gothic Metal scene.

Greyswan kept their promises (speaking of music) and made up a work of rare value.

The sound recalls famous bands such as Katatonia and Anathema-¦ but Greyswan learned from the Masters only the basics of an almost forced musical style, and try their own hands on sound enrichments, thus creating personal ideas and music. What comes out is a smooth flow of notes and voice-¦

Eight thoughtful and nostalgic songs to tell of thoughts and feelings, collected in an opening quote (that titles the whole album): -œOne feels that one listening to a tought -“ tormented music- -“ James Joyce.

A cared after work, faultless and with no imperfection, that walks through -œQuestions-, a song with a delicate and sad sound with cadenced and prolonged riffs-¦ slowed down rhythm-¦with a strong Katatonia flavour.

For those who remember their Promo 2001, we can see a revolutionary change of the already excellent -œSleepless Night-, that evolves decidedly less slowly than the previous version. -œQuestions–¦ diverse and variegated, is the pearl in the whole album-¦

More concentrated (and somehow reminding of Tool, at least in the first measures) and elaborated is -œLost Smiles–¦that advances beside -œThis Gloomy Sickness- with sounds that are clearly referring to Katatonia again, but revisited with a personal taste that cancels any doubt about the personalization of the ideas.

Passing through the -œfrail- -œWeâll Never Be–¦ we fly on wings of butterflies (icon of the artwork in this -œTought -“ Tormented Minds-, which is by the way very remarkable), on the melancholic and cadenced notes of -œWitness Of A Better Time-, to softly land on the final -œAfraid To Go On, Afraid To Come Back–¦ a screeching and enigmatic song sympathetic of a feeling of indecision and inner struggle.

An excellent work indeed that is revealed to be complex and learned-¦ for those who love the finest ideas-¦

A very good one for Ebony Tears (sub-firm -œgothic- of the Dutch Cold Blood Industries) that managed to get the great quality of a band that makes proud Metal Italy-¦