The Last Tree

Those three words and so many more, sum up Cormorant's first release. The Last Tree is one of the best EP's I've ever heard before from any band. Cormorant has found a way to be heavy, yet melodic and catchy at the same time. This is best evidenced in their opening song A Dance of Elk Entwined. It's a great song that shows what Cormorant is all about and it does exactly what an opener should. Rain Follows the Plow continues this trend of blending something you could bang your head to, but also just sit back and contemplate the message in the song. Trojan Horses and Two Brothers are the next two songs. These are also both very good, but if there was any song that I really could listen to a lot less than the others it would be Two Brothers. That's not to say that it's a bad song, but it doesn't seem as good to me as the other five. Of course, the last song is Ballad of the Beast. This is the perfect closing song. Everything in this song is just amazing. The addition of the female vocals along side Arthur's is great and so is the piano and the blending of the heavy and melodic sides to the song.

These three musicians have to come together to write music, not for fame but for the actual music and their love of it. The vocals, guitar, bass, and drums really fit very well and mesh to make these great songs. While this is going on, you can still see the individual musician in each work. Each song has this epic feel to it, that a lot of bands try to do, but few ever actually make it to that level that screams epic. Cormorant seem to have gotten down what makes a song worth listening to and apply their knowledge to each song they write. Of course it's not just the instruments that make these songs good, it's also the lyrics. It's not often in these days for the lyrics to mean much, have a good message, or to be interesting to think about. That's why when I personally hear these kinds of lyrics I'm attracted to them. The lyrics are extremely well written and are inspiring. Nature, politics, and mythology are themes dealt with in the lyrics and each song tackles something different. They really are some of the best lyrics I've heard and seen in awhile.

The sound quality is important and for the amount of money and time that Cormorant had I think they did a pretty decent job. They didn't have a lot of money to spend on this EP, they didn't have a lot of studio and mixing time either, which is why the sound could've used some work. The vocals are the biggest thing to suffer from this. I love the low growl, but because of the production most of the time (except for Ballad of the Beast) the vocals are inaudible and to understand them you really have to read the lyrics while listening to the song. That's not the only problem though, the guitar can also be really low in the mix, but this rarely happens. Sadly, the bass isn't dominate in any of the songs and can usually barely be heard. I know that this is a self-produced and self-released album and with that in mind the production could've been a lot worse. Cormorant have true talent and song writing skills. They are one of the few unsigned bands I can honestly see going very far and making their name known. I'm proud to be one of the first to get to hear such a great band starting their career. If you haven't picked this EP up yet, I'd suggest going and doing that to support these guys any way you can. The artwork should also appeal to you. It's extremely high quality and memorable. Some of the best I've ever seen.

Keep up the great work guys and I'm looking forward to the full album!