Prayer For Cleansing
The Tragedy EP
10
Arguably one of the first bands to inspire the modern 'metalcore' sound, Prayer For Cleansing were also one of the gamut of metalcore bands that fell into the early breakup syndrome (although a member went on to form Between the Buried and Me) that plagues the scene (Hamartia, Endthisday, As Hope Dies, Shai Hulud), so their legacy was limited to one brilliant album, The Rain In Endless Fall released in 1997, and its 2003 reissue. So after much ado, early this year there was a reunion show and subsequently this EP, and despite only being two new songs and a cover, it displays why Prayer For Cleansing were the short lived legends they were heralded as.
Bound in a beautiful, environmentally friendly card case (that requires some delicate hands to open), the aptly titled EP is a fitting tombstone for a band talented beyond measure and done before their time. The two new songs are superbly produced, articulate, melodic and sonorously constructed in a fitting eulogy for the band. While there are none of the acoustic, atmospheric elements that made The Rain in Endless Fall so hypnotic, the tracks display a sense of melody that many clones can only hope to achieve. First track, “The Closet” is throbbing, choppy and abrasive with an undulating sense of harmony that exudes a sobering retrospective. Paul Waggoner (recently of Between the Buried and Me) shows just how he was at the time; a genius of melancholy melody, and honestly wasted on BTBAM’s mote ballistic, bruising girth. Still, the track only briefly shows off the completely melodic side of Prayer For Cleansing, the total display is left for the amazing “When the Sun Kisses the Morning”. What a track. What a legacy. Every melodic metalcore band striving for excellence should simply look to this song (as well as The Rain in Endless Fall) to hear the genre done with absolute perfection. The harmonies erupt with such passion and gallop with such precision, this one track displays more succinct riffage and layered brilliance than many of the recent wannabees can only hope to squeeze into an entire album. Unfortunately, it has to end, only nailing home how good this band was and is, and shall be no more (the band has not hinted at a full return), and how emotional this kind of music can be when not constricted by a scenster mentality that simply lacks invigoration and relies on plagiarism.
The cover of The Cranberries “Salvation” comes across as a piecemeal cover to flesh out this eulogy, and while delivered with PFC’s own special knack of melody and savagery, the real star of this criminally short endnote is the band’s own material, that despite its brevity, shows how truly great this collection of musicians was.
Related
Prayer For CleansingThe Rain In Endless Fall
9/2/2003