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A Lower Deep - Black Marys review



Reviewer:
8.0
Band: A Lower Deep
Album: Black Marys
Release date: 2008


01. Bleed
02. Black Marys
03. Dead House Gates
04. Facing the Demon
05. Hamartia
06. The Maudlin Child
07. The Narrow Way
08. Children of Cain
09. For Those Left Behind
10. Revelation

There is a band that I use to follow since a lot of time now and its name is A Lower Deep. These guys from United States are really good musicians and the great thing with them is that they use to play a modern Metal which doesn't follow any trends. "Black Marys" is already their fourth album and I'm still wondering why any good labels have signed this band, I think that some people are a bit deaf nowadays.

A Lower Deep plays a mix between Power and Thrash Metal with really big Progressive influences. On a side, the music of this American combo can sound a bit like the angry past of Iced Earth (and that's even more obvious in reason of the similarities between the voice of Billy Mullican and Matt Barlow) but this is also a bit more Thrash and not so direct, A Lower Deep being also a band of Progressive Metal since its beginning. "Black Marys" is a really dark album and on a side this is not so easy of access because the songs are long in general with big structures and a lot of different breaks and changes. Though this is catchy and even if I didn't find any real mega hit you can be sure that you'll find a lot of great songs on this album. Actually you just have to like big thrashy riffs, blasting Power drums and complex structures and I'm sure that you'll like a lot of the release. No doubt that A Lower Deep is a classy combo which really deserves more attention.

One more time the guys are extremely convincing. I like the really original voice of Billy and the three other members are great performers too. The drums are perfectly played, the riffs and guitar soli kick ass and the bass uses to do a good rhythmic. Finally this is just the production which is just a bit so-so with a mixing which is maybe a bit too loud. All in all, the album remains really good, composed of really interesting and original songs. "Black Marys" is not trendy with A Lower Deep, you can be sure that you'll listen to original and really personal music and I like it!

If you like classy US Power Metal, if you like Nevermore or Iced Earth please have a look on this great combo and support them. I'm not saying that they're the best band of the universe but they're better than a ton of cheesy unoriginal bands which are signed by majors nowadays. Let's change this terrible trend and let's talk about A Lower Deep. If you like real good Metal please spread some words about A Lower Deep and its last album "Black Marys"; this is good music so they deserve it!


Rating breakdown
Performance: 8
Songwriting: 7
Originality: 8
Production: 7

Written by Jeff | 19.10.2008




Comments

Comments: 1   Visited by: 13 users
27.02.2009 - 13:54
Syk
myspace/bonerama
One of the least thrashy things I've heard in my life. It's like calling 'Ride the Lightning' funeral doom
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death ? thrash ? death/doom/prog ? Hail Zoldon!

he's not the kind you have to wind up on Sundays
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