I present a double dose below.
As Eden Burns - The Great Celestial Delusion (2008)
The Lone Star state's very own As Eden Burns was the best thing to happen to Willowtip in a long time. With a roster filled to the brim with grind and death metal, the gore obsessed label heard something exciting and decided to share it post haste.
As Eden Burns released an EP before their signing to Willowtip. The songs featured on that EP are also on the debut full length mentioned here. The older material held up with the new which made for an album that isn't just an EP with some new material. Which is good considering that obtaining their first release is probably difficult at this point.
As Eden Burns will rekindle that old metal flame deep inside your innards. The flame that most of us keep away from all the new mediocrity that spills out every month which attempts to douse the flame causing one to give up on the once powerful force known as metal (as many have and reasonably so).
For those who have not abandoned hope, As Eden Burns offer a slaughtering take on how to properly use melody and aggression. This is something very few bands grasp because they are too busy wondering how to put that breakdown in between the bridge and the next chorus and then after the chorus again (only this time played slowwwwer). If bands were not allowed to play breakdowns by some cosmic law they would probably end up with the best material they ever wrote, or they would break up. Bands like As Eden Burns went with the former as they are what one could consider a "No nonsense" band, they go straight for the throat and leave the formulated bullshit to the talentless hacks.
The vocals sound like tearing flesh and they never let up. While the singer is constant in his delivery, the vocals actually tend to get even harsher as the band shreds through intense climaxes before going into one of their devastating passages of mid paced destruction. Meanwhile you have the dual guitar action used wisely as underlying melodies accent the non stop riffing.
It's no secret that US bands completely ripped off the Swedish DM sound, and most just don't get it. And then there's As Eden Burns who clearly come from a seasoned background of meshing their talents and influences to create a better listening experience. There are plenty of bands who have the talent, yet they choose to squander it for pit action. Their compromise is apparent and it's why As Eden Burns will be amongst the new champions of metal. Instead of simply taking what has been done, they have worked on perfecting their own approach while using such legendary styles that came before them as tools to tweak their own representation of the genre.
I'm not saying the band breaks new ground by any means, I'm just telling you they do it better.
The Black Dahlia Murder - Deflorate (2009)
Let's get something straight, The Black Dahlia Murder's "Unhallowed" EP was completely overrated and it's a piece of boring shit. Then came Miasma, granted I thought it was decent but it turned out to be the band's tribute to Iron Maiden. Hey, it happens. Then we get to "Nocturnal", now they are onto something. Finally the band defined its sound, they chose a side and they chose wisely. I enjoyed Nocturnal enough but it would be the band's latest offering that really shows how they have progressed (and I'm sure the line-up changes didn't hurt).
The cover of this album screams metal, fortunately the music does too. While I still think the band is this boring object to view live, their new tunes put me on my ass. I am impressed with their progress and while I could easily be a dick and consider their older releases shitty enough to dismiss them altogether, it's the simple fact that if more bands like The Black Dahlia Murder existed, I would have just a little bit less to bitch about.
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