Brudevalsen
Demo
7.4
Completely escaping that trademark Danish sound that's earned a fair amount of recognition over the last two years, Brudevalsen have a huge and unconventional style that hooks you the moment you hear it. I've painstakingly tried to find out more information beyond the band's website, but it seems my failure to know any language other than English once again puts me at a cultural disadvantage. All I can really tell is that they formed in 2000 originally as a four piece, but brought along Claudio Wolff to play upright bass and piano for them.
Ranging from a pensive and almost crooning clean singing which sounds like Tool's Maynard James Keenan, to agonizing mid/low range dual yells, there's a real contrast between every vocal style present on the demo. With a phasing and beautiful guitar solo that ends the powerfully slow and perilous track "Nothing Left", it effectively leads into "Loss", showing remarkable arrangement skill. More biting and forthright in the chorus than the previous song, there's still a heavy presence of psychedelic waves which can be attributed to the soaring and echoing vocals during the verses. Definitely reminds me of something, but I can't put my finger on it. I'd almost like to say it's Elegy-era Amorphis, but I'm afraid of turning people off as I realize I'm one of the only people who liked that album. "Dirt In The Ground", a Tom Waits cover, forcefully draws a happy smirk out of me. A gutsy and ambitious move, but they pull it off regardless. Sometimes expansive and other times noisy, at their heaviest, Brudevalsen's riffing brings Isis, Kylesa, or even Planes Mistaken For Stars to mind. Yet, they also have the ability to create an extremely morose sound as they prove on their final track "In This World", a song driven by a gloomy piano melody with heavily processed guitar layered beneath.
I really hope this band continues on their current path, because as it is, they're producing some truly rare and commendable music. Hopefully when they get a full length recorded, we'll be fortunate enough to hear what direction these guys head in. Without a doubt, worth a closer look.
