First Scream

So, my first Flammea review was not very fair to the band. While I still think that the "Hell is Here" demo is not very good, I can admit that Flammea have made some good songs and most of them are in this follow-up demo, "First Scream".

The band is back with a new line-up, a new singer who sounds like a much more energetic version of the previous one, heavier guitars and overall, more energy and more passion to their music. Now they finally sound like a thrash metal band.

Well, not just thrash. "First Scream" blends thrash, heavy and flute-based ballads under a hair metal or pop metal coating, and it actually works better than you might think. Each track is different, and I'd say they all work in their own way. So let's list some of their individual qualities.

"Fear" and "Dark Brain" are the most thrash metal tracks. "Fear" has a fast riff and a sense of urgence, a need to escape one's fear, with a chorus sung by the whole band. "Dark Brain" has fast-paced vocals and a dark atmosphere, with screams and evil laughs.

"Fuckin' Bastard" is a nice short and angry track, with even faster vocals and riffs, probably the heaviest track on the demo. It makes an interesting contrast with the cover of Pat Benatar's "Heartbreaker" and the final ballad, "Scream of Sadness". The "Heartbreaker" cover is a lot of fun, but "Scream of Sadness" is one of the most interesting tracks of this record. It starts with a flute intro, before turning into a metal ballad, where the flute plays the role typically played by keyboards in those types of songs, and the lyrics are sung by the entire band again. It could be described as a thrash-y ballad with a flute, sung by a girl group, accidentally playing some sort of proto-symphonic metal.

So this demo gains my approval, because it is a real improvement on its predecessor. It is also quite an interesting record, with original ideas and a variety of styles. I didn't know the band who made a demo as bland as "Hell is Here" had it in them to make songs like "Scream of Sadness" and "Fuckin' Bastard". More importantly, I think this demo proves that Flammea can play different styles, and appeal to different types of audience.

Like I said, their mix of different, usually thought to be incompatible styles actually works pretty well, and the band itself also got better. The instruments are better played, the music is better, the vocals aren't always great but still better than on the previous demo. This is definitely a Flammea demo I'd recommend. Maybe their music is a little hard to find nowadays, but at least, if you can't find all the tracks, make sure you listen to "Scream of Sadness", "Fear", "Dark Brain" and "Heartbreaker". I've heard that Flammea are still playing today, with a new line-up, so I wish them good luck.