Grey Demo 2008

While Sad Spirits Around Me Stroll is a French band and a one man project; the chances are good that this could be an interesting release... and it is indeed such. This band is different. Not just a little bit, like some small step from pathways a lot of artists have already walked upon, but certainly something in a new direction, can be described what WSSAMS perform.

One striking aspect is the melodic style in which everything is written in. To use the term labelled to this band at their Metal Archives profile, black metal, does hardly cover all the facets and elements the listener can examine on this release. Of the extreme genre only glimpses appear now and then, while rockish, experimental and folkish are revealed over the course of the demo. While they are situated beyond the realm of the ordinary, they possess some features of interest, which makes the demo enjoyable despite its short-comings. Some gentle flow, some fascinating atmosphere, something different to what is generally offered has been created by While Sad Spirits Around Me Stroll on this release.

A general impression is that of highly melodic music, which offers a good deal of repetition in the motives and is not too complex; it achieves its fascination rather through the way the arrangements have been put into place and merged together. Few disrupting elements can be found in the three songs and everything is so gentle and peaceful that one might be nod to the rhythms without ever noticing it. Each of the composition is different but also alike. WSSAMS vary the concept in a certain degree without ever moving far away from it.

The slightly muddy sound of the tape takes away parts of the atmosphere and with a cleaner as well as more transparent sound, the whole perception of the music would be much better. Currently something like a fog hangs over the songs and takes away parts of the power and sound. It is still possible to get the idea and to listen to the music without getting annoyed, but the optimum has not been reached here. Further, a play with the ideas would help to create a deeper impression on the side of the listener. The end of Garden of Life is really neat, but also so displaced there and works only as an outro and as nothing more.

The music on this release is different but pretty enjoyable. Its instrumental style needs some time until the beauty of the ideas reveal themselves to the listener, yet once this level is reached, it is easy to enter the realm of While Sad Spirits Around Me Stroll again. Due to the inoffensive character of the music, it can very well be used in the background or to relax.