Over the vast fields of West-Flanders, a new prototype thunderously rolls onward. Atreus is the name of the beast, and it fires death metal shells at a devastating rate - victims are sure to follow. With their first demo, the band is showing off their grasp of the basics (and beyond). Solid musicianship and groovy compositions contribute to a quite enjoyable demo. I'm especially fond of the old school vibe that echoes through all tracks - headbanging is made for grooves like these. The atmospheric leads clearly effloresce from a Death influence, which is never a bad thing. From my point of view, there are two issues that could've been better: the drums and the vocals. The drummer is clearly gifted with fast hands and feet, which leaves me wondering why many rhythms are so straightforward? A tad more variation and accentuation would add a new level of dynamics to every song. The drums are very acceptable as they are, but I have the feeling the drummer hasn't sped up to full capacity yet. Same goes for the vocals: the screams are fine, but some of the grunts feel like a half-bark, half-yell, i.e. too forced. However, practice makes perfect, and this demo should be a great warm-up for a debut album. Fix the flaws, tweak the details, and it will work out just fine.
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AUTHOR: Goran
Goran has been an active reviewer for years (since the old Fishcomcollective, to the brand new Corazine - and also for Face Your Underground). He enjoys - besides metal - the creative side of life, be it through music, sports, programming or 3D. You can find him at www.myspace.com/fdemets.