In Vain
Wounds EP
7.1
Synopsis:
A well done demo of promising but slightly overly ambitious, Opeth inspired, progressive black death metal...
Review:
At the recommendation of one of my fellow writers at one of the other websites I whore myself out to, I grabbed this self released and produced, four song demo from Norway’s In Vain, expecting to be as blown away as he was. While I was initially blown away, I settled into a less impressed but certainly intrigued state of mind as this professional quality demo wore on.
In Vain start Wounds out on a strong note with opener “October’s Monody”, that starts off with some very impressive Opethian acoustics, synths and vaguely 70s laced death/black metal, including a rather nifty blast beat and stern groove - all within the first three minutes. However, as the track wanes into its 6th minute, with slightly hokey clean operatic vocals and wandering climax, it loses its initial punch, mirroring the effect of the whole demo.
The nine minute “Det Raknert” starts with a angular, almost black metal approach that’s far less fluid and artful than the opener and starts to expose the band's ADD, but as the Borknagar/Vintersorg-ish clean vocals kick in around 2:15 (and again for the repeated chorus), you get a glimpse of the band's more streamlined potential. If only they would just stick with it, instead of reverting back and forth from the jarring tones to the often breathtaking creativity (i.e. the orchestral/string segment that ends “Det Raknert”) that band certainly has.
Again, “In Remembrance” opens with some caustic post-black metal, that’s just a bit too out there for me with a random, grating jazz/sax injection but again the band reigns things in around 3:28 with yet more teasing creativity and a more tempered, introspective sax/acoustic interlude that shows the salivating potential In Vain appear to have.
As Wounds closes with the fine piano laced acoustic number “Epilogue: Alene”, you're left wondering if the band will fade into metal obscurity or become something truly special as they have the potential skill, but flawed, overreaching ambition to do both.
Definitely an act to keep an eye on if they just reign things in a bit...
