The Sun of Weakness
Landscape
5.7
I’m running out of things to review in the queue, so as I went through looking for new challenges, Landscape, the most recent demo from oddly named The Sun Of Weakness caught my eye. Investigation soon followed, and after stumbling upon their webpage I was given a good deal of in-depth information about the band, as you can also discover for yourselves as well. Italy has produced some terribly underrated and overlooked metal acts, as well as some that are just plain terrible and should be overlooked, so Landscape quickly became much more interesting to review of all the sudden.
First off, Landscape sounds great, with Guiseppe Orlando handling mix & mastering duties on this demo, the third recorded with Flavio Scipione, to my knowledge. There’s a strong, immediate resemblance to Novembre in a way that caught me a little bit off guard at first, but as more and more of the music is absorbed, The Sun Of Weakness begins to set themselves apart. And how did they set themselves apart from Novembre? By not coming close to the greatness of Orlando’s prolific project. It’s melancholic, graceful, somewhat classy, but nothing to plan a meal around.
This isn’t a crap band, and they don’t play crap music, and really, I wouldn’t even call it lackadaisical or derivative. It’s just, there. “Floating Deserts” opens up pleasantly enough with supple, melodic riffs that are both simple and understated, Fabio Bruselles keyboards waft in to add some nice depth without making things too flowery, and Alessandro Cammilletti’s vocals are also easy on the ears, but his delivery sounds a little edited, a little too restrained. As “Chemical Frustration” arrives, it becomes clear that Alessandro’s voice is suited very well to softer compositions, as well as more rock-oriented material, but his range is somewhat limited. Luckily, he seems to know his limit, but doesn’t really try to do as much as he can with what he’s got to work with, and at times his self-restraint is a little too constrictive.
“Drop” works a little better due to its busier, more effervescent structure, and Alessandro puts a little more oomph! into his delivery here, but the song becomes a little piano-heavy, and ends with a sudden fadeout which makes the track seem incomplete. Closing tune, “Hysterical Mistake”, basically sounds like the previous four songs encapsulated into one track, which makes for a roundabout sort of listen. Guitars reemerge from their cocoon to help carry things along at a decent pace, and I wished the previous tracks were as fully fleshed-out as “Hysterical Mistake”, because it’s the only song that really woke me up to the point of taking notice.
The makings of a good band are here, and like I said, the music here isn’t garbage by any stretch. Landscape just sort of ‘exists’, doesn’t take many chances, or do anything to really stand out and make a strong, lasting impression. It’s all well-performed, but also very uneventful, and ultimately, rather forgettable melodic mood metal, and there's not a whole lot of metal. This is unfortunate since I sat through this thing many times hoping I’d catch something I missed during previous listens, and it didn’t happen. The Sun Of Weakness is a quality ensemble, but they just don’t quite live up to their capabilities and potential on this demo. I’d compare this to fruit punch that could really use a spiking-up; good, but it doesn’t stick with ya’ for very long.
