Edenbeast
Shortcuts of Erotic Violence
5.8
Synopsis:
Despite the awesome moniker, Russia’s Edenbeast delivers an ‘A for Effort, C for results’ form of average melodic death metal.
Review:
Over the next few weeks, you’ll be reading a ton of reviews from the Metalism label who either A) just discovered the Post Office, or B) just discovered this website, as they inundated us with a slew of their records, both old and new. Some of it is surprisingly good such as Aztec inspired doom merchants Tenochtitlan and folk metal act Alkonost, but as you’d expect from an obscure Russian label, a lot of it is pretty substandard and rather mediocre. Such is the case with Edenbeast.
Hindered by a slightly hollow production as well as countless examples of rather lax clean vocals amid the expected galloping melodic dual guitars, the occasional synths, solos, rasps and grunts, Shortcuts of Erotic Violence is a perfect example of a group of youngsters just now hearing albums by Edge of Sanity, The Duskfall, Soilwork and of course, In Flames and Dark Tranquility.
There is no lack of effort and energy though as the intrepid five-piece (including axe-woman Alena "Hellena" Gindina) canter and trot their way through 10 tracks of late 1990's melodic death metal, covering the entire spectrum of expected influences. Rather than the expected mix of mid paced tracks and up-tempo numbers, most of the tracks are safely paced and rather timid as “In Love & Death”, “Suicidal Angel of Revenge”, “Eternity is Not For Me”, “Drawing Of Pain”, “Oneday...”, just saunter along with no real urgency of dynamics. Only “In The Dark” takes the slightest chance with a very slight sense of more oopmh. But also to their credit, with the exception of bonus track “When the Sun is Going Down”, which sounds like either a cover or one of the bands earlier, doomy tracks, they don’t go to the other end of the melodic death metal spectrum and do the old ballad or wispy instrumental. The album is pretty much the same gait the whole way through.
Though a release not completely without merit, as I have to admire the band's steadfast commitment to a rather dated sound, I can’t wholeheartedly recommend this to you unless you absolutely crave or collect obscure Eastern European melodic death metal knock offs.
