Serein Falls

This piece of music had originally been recorded in 1996, but not seen the light of day until 2008.

The three tracks on Serein Falls have each a distinct touch and style. Meander on. Post-Earth conceptions, fantasies of places far out in space, ever unreachable, ever incomprehensible, ever inducing a longing of leaving the shores of the well-known world behind. The music leaves you alone, because in direction it points away from our own spheres and towards some distant ones. Drums create a pattern, strings add melodies, the bass throws in some warm ones as well and the vocals are responsible for some atmospheric touches. Nothing feels particularly innovative or even daring; it seems to exist because it is possible for such an art to have a place in some obscure niche, whose place is readily forgotten and rarely discovered. Hardly engaging, drug induced, mysticism without a shaman.

A new direction … but one that follows suit with the band's origin. Even though the metal parts are gone, their absence does not come over as a burden. With less heaviness the atmosphere has a considerably larger impact, whose ingredients remind on early Black Sabbath, Pink Floyd and psychedelic bands from the 70s. It is a continuation of what has been done before, but it does not feel like the band dared to push it a bit. No experimentation, no distinct counterpoints and also no keyboard elements that would play with the guitars in such a way as to lift the progressiveness to a different level. All flows … it flows continually, as if the band had hit some kind of secret source, whose contents would enable the band to create and spread their particular type of art on a larger scale.

This their latest output is as strange and confusing as the other ones. You listen to all of them in a row, may be bewildered about the arrangements, the style and the sound, but to look beyond the immediate or obvious could be challenging indeed. Music that does not demand attention or comprehension. Strange that the Irish metal scene would be a host to such a band … and from that early stage on.

Based on a review originally written for ‘A dead spot of light (Number 22)’:
http://www.archive.org/details/ADeadSpotOfLight...Number22