To My Beloved...

The imprints of katatonia and opeth are all over this band, though not strong enough to turn out a decent imitation. The biggest issues that jump out at the listener are the poor drum machine programming and the guttural vocal style. It’s not death metal but very deep and thick. I have a hard time enjoying these vocals with this style of metal as it seems to take away from the atmosphere, which is a big problem with this release on just about all fronts.

"Benighted in the Sea" has a riff that seems lifted directly from early katatonia, say a Brave Murder Day outtake, though there is some artistic signature here beyond the influences. There are some fuzzbox like solos that add depth.

"Hauntings at Night" changes up the vocal style to a more nasal black metal voice, though it's more pronounced that screechy. There isn't much that would help you tell the first track from the second. Soft parts, fuzzy parts, and no strong cohesion. You get the picture.

"Insomnia" seems to highlight one of the big flaws in this bands sound, a drum machine. It distracts me from any feeling of "doom" or depression and that's a bad thing. It doesn't sound like a part of the music as a whole. There is also a horrible change up about 1:30 in that just doesn't fit in at all. It's actually painful to hear.

The track "Rain of Spring" stands out considerably with a faster pace and a power rhythm melody that grabs your intrest back after slogging through the rest of this release. The verses are a more choppy affair with guitar lead ins threading back and forth to keep things rolling. Definitely the best song on this offering.

"Erasing" is very jumpy and staccato and a generally muddy composition. Not much to say that I haven’t already.

"Depth" Is more like "Rain of Spring" and certainly another high point. Melodic and driving, it brings out the best that Sea has to offer. Sadly, there is some really horrible guitar solos about 1:30 of the way in. The song pretty much falls apart after that and loses much of my initial interest.

"Reminiscent" is aimed at being a doom track. Poor choice of chords and change ups again ruins the atmosphere and distracts the listener from any real feeling.


If you're a fanatic of Doom/Gloom you might want to check this out, or at least sample "Rain of Spring". If this fellow lefthander would find a decent drummer and kick out the machine, and maybe work on keeping his songs smaller in scope and tighter in aspect he might be on to something.