Liste des groupes Black Death Mélodique Old Corpse Road Echoes of Tales Once Told

British folklore may not be acknowledged as much as it should, but when put with a sound that is as epic as bathory, as atmospheric as burzum and with the symphony of early dimmu borgir/emperor, it becomes sheer perfection. Old corpse road (hailing from the north of england) have done exactly that with their 2009 demo “The Echoes of Tales Once Told”. They are named after the roads that were once used to transport the dead to cemeteries, and these roads were often associated with spirits, ghosts etc...

“The Echoes of Tales Once Told” brings their unique blend of traditional folk and the early black metal scene kicking and screeching into the 21st century with fantastic production but still somehow managing to retain the original feel and atmosphere. It truly is hard to believe that this is just their first demo.

The vocals of old corpse road are comprised of various haunting shrieks, growls, chants and even spoken word (the latter only the British accent could pull off well). This huge range of vocal styles ensures the music always stays fresh. The keyboards/ambience compliments the buzzing guitars perfectly in a union of melancholy and intensity to create a unique black metal experience.

This is definitely a band to look out for in the future, and one I have very high hopes for. But in the meantime hunt down this demo (on their myspace or where i got it from, Ebay) and I can assure you that you won’t be disappointed.

Warlord of Misanthropy

“The Echoes of Tales Once Told" is a superb demo, and if you love black metal, you will understand what I mean when I say that it has "that feeling", inherent in all quality and heartfelt black metal. Old Corpse Road succeed in this by creating very interesting, quite long and absorbing songs, with many moments of sheer beauty, rage and darkness, tinged with a tenderness for nature and heritage, one only experiences with black metal of this calibre. The vocals are varied and exciting (no less than four of the band contributing here), with vocals on the eponymous first song reminding me of Demonos Sova of Barathrum, at times Piaty of Sunwheel to name a couple. Throughout this cd we have black metal screams and shrieks, guttural death vocals, and strong spoken word in a classic and very affective (and importantly, genuine!) English accent. The drumming through the cd is solid and passionate, correctly never encroaching too much in the mix. As the backbone of any metal song, the drums are consistent, strong and perfect for the songs that it supports. Blast beats are played vigorously and in time, the fills drag you into the next part of the song with flair. The guitars have a crunch in the distortion giving way to layers of dark riffing, performed with skill, they are exactly what is required to pull off these songs. We also have several acoustic passages, gentle and distinctive, they really succeed in defining certain moments during the songs. Bass is again played with skill and serves not to merely shadow the guitars, but bring in a groove of its own to underpin the guitar passages and strengthen them boldly. The keyboard passages come and go, timed perfectly to complement the mood, ranging from choirs, reminiscent of "In the nightside eclipse", to church organ, reminiscent of early Cradle Of Filth. The keyboards are played when necessary, not constantly, unlike a lot of formulaic black metal we have all heard many times before. In summary this is an excellent cd, the first song will have you chanting "the old corpse road" long after you have heard it, song two will raise the hairs on your neck with rousing black metal class, song three will make you long for more classic black metal with it's passion and paces, and each song will mean so much more when listened to with the lyrics at hand. I cannot recommend this enough to the black metal connoisseur. I expect even greater music to come from Old Corpse Road, I can't wait for the full length album, until then, "The Echoes of Tales Once Told" will remain in my car's cd player for the foreseeable future!