Art of Darkness
Mind Suicide
6.8
Art of Darkness is a somewhat generic, yet still highly enjoyable semi-melodic death metal band, similar to The Crown or At The Gates. It's a high speed sonic assault that never lets up. The only problem is there just isn't anything that would really set them apart from the rest of the crowd. The thing that amazed me was. (gasp). decent production! Almost all unsigned and local bands have terrible production, most likely due to the fact that they probably recorded it in their parent's basement and mixed/edited it on their brother's Tandy. This, however, has some very decent production, bringing out everything good about the band. Which brings me to my next point. there actually was NOTHING bad about the band, I can't think of a single negative thing to say aside from the shortness of the album (EP?). Art of Darkness is genuinely good, I believe they have 2 vocalists or some vocal layering. If there's one singer, he sort of switches between two different growls/screams. The riffs are catchy and the drumming is up to par. They don't have a TERRIBLE lack of substance or anything, but there is something missing here. I think that they just need to establish a persona or something and find their niche, then they could be a very cool band. All in all, I enjoyed myself. Fans who can't decide whether they like brutal straight death or Swedish melodic death will have a fine time listening to this, it's a good blend of both. Just don't cry when it ends after only 21 minutes.
