That Pale Sun. That Pale End.

I really hoped that I would never have to give any release a zero percent. Sure, I've given multiple under 50% reviews, but even those albums had some redeeming or interesting qualities, something respectable about them, or aspects appealing to people with different tastes. Usually for newer bands that happen to be somewhat lacking, I like to say that they have potential, or perhaps they can do better next time, but unfortunately I cannot do that here. The fact of the matter is that there is simply nothing good about this demo, That Pale Sun, That Pale End from recent black metal act Forgotten Soul. Well, what about how it fades mercifully into background music if you stop focusing on it? What about how short it is? Those don't exactly count for positive points. No one expects a masterpiece from a random, obscure metal band, but neither should one have to expect this.

Now, music is subjective, especially a genre like black metal. It doesn't "sound good" in a traditional sense, but there's still a reason why it exists or appeals to people. Riffing, atmosphere, homage to Satan, whatever it's intended for, the only reason I can think of as to why this particular demo has any value is so that the songwriters can channel their depression, inner torment, or the fact that they are unable to create half-decent music, from their own seemingly tortured existences and onto someone else. If that's an outlet for these band members, well, at least that's working for them, but for anyone who's listening it's quite awful.

Forgotten Soul sounds tortured, and in turn is torture; they could be considered DSBM. The rely on very basic instrumentation, guitar and vocals being the only things in the mix besides a supposed bass, which, to no one's surprise, is inaudible. The guitar's tone is harsh and reminiscent of static, playing slow and simplistic. It's not all of that different from Sloth's abundant harsh noise singles, except this is actually recognizable as a guitar. Not a single memorable riff is present, and it's hard to tell what he's playing anyway through his tone and the production. There aren't any drums! If there had been, then maybe this would be dismissible as utterly generic black metal, but it is its own brand of garbage. The vocals are just bad. Not funny-bad like Ghost Bath or Silencer, but just bad, raw screaming buried behind a grating guitar. This is the type of music a non-metalhead thinks of when they pose the question: "Oh, so you like metal? Isn't that just a bunch of guys screaming?"

The production merely builds upon the horrors of the previous paragraph. Sure, black metal is known for its bad production. In fact, we're proud of our raw aesthetics and how they enhance our message and the atmosphere of the music. But there's really a line. Forgotten Soul is what it would sound like if Unholy Trilogy era Darkthrone shat into a laptop microphone and recorded it with Audacity. All the songs sound the same and there isn't even a real atmosphere here. Yes, they do the whole "tortured" thing, but you're so distracted by how shitty the music is (should I even call it that?) that they can't get their message across. Or maybe it works too well.

On top of that, this band is pretentious. It's one thing if you have something to be pretentious about; maybe you're a really good musician or you have access to a great studio, but Forgotten Soul has no right to be proud of themselves. Their band bio is even worse than Opeth's (which starts off "an unstoppable force for uniqueness in a sea of generic swill..." for those of you who don't know). I won't spoil it for you but the phrases "only for the true" are thrown around and it finishes with "my bleak inhuman soul." Gee, can't wait to read the lyrics now.

At this point I am counting on it being a black metal parody, but no definitive indication has been given. This demo has no musical merit, no talent involved in its writing or production, and most disheartening of all, no potential. Let's leave this in the underground.