Demo 2006

Ambivalent goes hand in hand with the aspect of being twofold or two-edged and the person whose feelings are such, in respect to art or whatever is imaginable, will certainly be not entirely pleased with 'something'. The 'error' or flaw might be minuscule, but has nevertheless the impact of reducing the quality to a much lower level.

Two aspects are ambivalent when it comes to the first release of Colosseum:

1. The band name.
As for the fact that the band choose this one, shows that they are unaware of metal and especially rock history. Colosseum was founded in 1968, is a jazz fusion band and has released a good deal of records since. They belonged also to the circle of bands who founded the progressive rock scene. Yes, today Colosseum does not get the reputation and attention it once (and perhaps also should) received, but it is somehow annoying to see a young band of the same name start their own 'career', while the original one is still around and releases albums. Even though it has become difficult to find good names today, to choose Colosseum for a funeral doom band is a little bit strange though.

2. The style of the music.
As already mentioned is the band's art a quite extreme one, but of a kind that is certainly unique and to some extent outstanding. Perhaps the music of Colosseum should be presented to newbies of the aforementioned genre, as the combination of keyboards, synth textures and guitars is rather ear-catchy and accessible; in contrast to the releases of more prominent and established artists. Of the extreme sound and often extreme dark atmosphere not much can be found on this demo. Yet it is not cheering or happy funeral doom, but it is more flowing and in motion. The listener is always surrounded by some sort of sad atmosphere and the band avoids any kind of extreme moments and elements. No harsh screams, no weird sounds and certainly nothing that would break out of the 'harmony' the band creates.

Somehow is this demo very commercial music. It is easy to get it and the songs are very catchy. Perhaps they had this in mind: "try to not to scare anyone and use a good deal of layers in order to plaster the short-comings in the song-writing." Especially the later one is achieved quite well, as the listener is not spend much time on the figuring out how the songs have been arranged, as there is always soemthing that tries to cover it up; this is due to the keyboards and their part in the concept of Colosseum. The basis of the songs are very slow played riffs or better said accords. A second facet is the deep but not dominant growling of the vocalist and finally had been keyboard added, whose share consist of textures and occasionally structured play. Out of the common is the lead-guitar which offers on The Gate of Adar several minutes of neat played riffs and whose sound forms a clear contrast to the down-tuned guitars that appear generally in this genre.

This is a demo for those who want to start to explore the music of the funeral doom genre. It is easy accessible music and hardly disturbing the listener at all... but as all sounds very polished and similiar, as well as too commercial, nothing more then fifty points are appropriate for this release; the aspect of the name played also a role of course.