Mental Suffocation

Eratomania is a 3-piece “down tempo black metal band” which I’ll just call depressive black metal from this point on. The band was formed in Belgium in 2010 and shortly after released a three song demo in May of 2011 called Mental Suffocation on Immortal Frost Productions. Eratomania is currently rehearsing and preparing for future live performances and is also in the process of writing new material which may see the music take on a new direction.

One of the first things to keep in mind is that this is a demo recording. The production isn’t the best but it’s far from bad. It has a raw sound to it but in a strange way it almost adds to the negative feel and dark emotion of the music. In the clean sections you can even hear string rattles, slides and finger movement. The mix is decent, if I have any criticism it is that the drums and bass are mixed a little low. The music borders on repetitive with the songs relying on subtle melody changes of the guitars and drums. I found the first two tracks were very similar in sound and structure with the third track standing out on its own. The music is slow to mid tempo with steady tremolo picking and drum patterns. The vocals are raw, blackened growls that are more along the lines of the depressive/suicidal style without the bark or yelp. So they fit the feel of the music well without being annoying.

Mental Suffocation begins the demo with a nice, clean guitar melody. It has a sorrowful, organic sound to it. It is almost warm sounding. At around 1:30 the warm clean guitar gives way to cold, raw, distorted guitars, bass, drums and vocals. The song doesn’t change much throughout relying only on subtle melody and rhythm changes until about a minute left when it returns to the clean guitar melody which started the song.

“Within My (B)Reach” begins much in the same way as the first track ends with a clean guitar picking out a similar sounding melody. Again it sounds very natural and organic. The song follows the slow to mid paced feel of the first track being lead once again by tremolo picked guitars. The arrangement goes through some minor changes until around a minute left when it slows as it returns to the intro melody. This little interlude is short lived as the song returns to the heavy, repetitive arrangement.

“Lasting Days” was my favourite track on the demo. The guitars on the opening sound almost out of tune (obviously they’re not) which gives the sound a very dark, “I don’t give a fuck” kind of feel to it. Of course the melody it plays adds a bit of a negative, melancholic feel to to it as well. It’s one of the more memorable melodies on the demo. After the intro this melody moves from strung out chords to an elongated, tremolo picked variation. The drums, bass and vocals also enter the mix at the time to complete the arrangement. It’s not until about mid way through that the arrangement changes slightly. The change is eerily reminiscent of the arrangement that appears on the second track. The bass and the drums do not really do anything overly exciting but they provide a decent base for the song to work from.

Overall Mental Suffocation is a decent effort. The production is a little raw which is the biggest knock against it and the music tends to get a little repetitive. I think Eratomania played it safe on this demo by not really doing anything above and beyond. However, Eratomania does manage to create a dark, depressive and negative atmosphere with the music. If the guys can put together a better production on future releases I think it will go a long way to helping everything come across better. I like the direction Eratomania began to explore on the last track “Lasting Days” and a little more variation like in this song will go a long way. This area of black metal is a crowded one so it is the little things that help differentiate one band from the next. Eratomania has set down a good solid base with the potential to do something great but I would like to see them experiment with their sound and throw a little more caution to the wind on future releases instead of playing it so safe. The band has already said that the material that is currently being written will take on a new direction.

Originally posted on MidwinterFires.com