Gall Demo 2006

I had no idea what to expect from this. 'Progressive death metal' can mean a lot of things. From the band name, I would have expected some kind of folk/viking endeavour. From their logo, one would first think 'black metal' above all else. And from looking at the cover of this demo, 'gothic' is what first came to mind. If it has to be said, I was terribly wrong in all instances.

Guenhyvar play what i'd call progressive melodeath, but don't misunderstand what I mean by 'melodeath' as there are no signs of Gothenburg to be found here. The riffs have an almost power metal sensibility here, very epic, very hookladen. The obvious comparison anyone would make is Opeth, and while i'd agree, that isn't to say that they sound a great deal like them, it's just that Guenhyvar have such a unique sound it's difficult to find a band to compare them to. So yes, Opeth is the closest band to their sound that I can think of, but they're not a soundalike. Also, they're missing two elements that puts most people off Opeth. First of all, unlike Opeth, all the different sections and riffs flow together. They don't sound disjointed or out of place. They 'progress' better if you like, it's not just a bunch of random parts sewn together. And secondly, there are no lengthy acoustic sections here either. There is the occasional mellower part, but it doesn't go on for eight minutes.

The production is pretty good for a demo...nothing really to complain about. Everything can be heard clearly, even in the faster double bass parts. The only thing I can really pick out is that the clean vocals were produced a little poorly, and when they come in it kinda reminds you that it IS just a demo. Ignoring the mixing though, the clean vocals are actually excellent, as are the growls. All the musicianship here is way above standard. All the musicians involved are very adept, yet there is no wankery or show-off attitudes involved (as there is with way too much 'progressive' music).

What makes this demo so great is a combination of extremely well-written riffs and vocal melodies ("am I really aliiiive?") and a superb epic atmosphere. The disc opens with a few dissonant piano keys, then a few seconds of silence before the cymbals crash in and the epic riffing charges through. And throughout the demo, the atmosphere never lets down. Look at the second track, where the mellower sections are almost folkish in sensibility. And then a little while later, even the solos manage to add to the atmosphere magnificently. After a long mellow section, the song ends up building into a powerful cresendo. Magic!

For a debut demo this is highly impressive, and I look forward to hearing more from Guenhyvar in future.