First things first: listen to Pearl and the End of Days on Bandcamp.
It's difficult to adequately capture the impact of this particular 27 minutes of music. Indeed, words usually fail in moments like these, when a band has reached beyond their perceived capabilities to create something truly great and unexpected.
Why unexpected? I'm willing to bet that Grayceon fans (and other observers), upon listening to their previous release, 2011's All We Destroy, were suitably impressed. There didn't seem to be anything galling in either the songwriting or performance that required an immediate fix. As the expression goes, "if it ain't broke, don't fix it", right?
Pearl and the End of Days represents one of the few instances I can recall where a band made a massive improvement in their sound without necessarily needing it. If that isn't enough to convince people that this is a great EP (and likely the best of 2013), there are the two songs at hand.
Taken as a whole, we have the cycle of birth and death represented by their beginning and endpoints. Although in this case, "End of Days" sounds more like a vision of the apocalypse rather than the death of a specific person.
"we will all die/no one survives/it is our time/once again"
The above may sound cryptic and grim. But not all is lost. In fact, we are advised "long hairs unite, in rock and roll" and to "turn up louder". Sound advice, I would say.
The most notable aspect of the recording is the drum work. In both songs, the drums take over in the finale, with some catchy tom-driven beats and fills. I hate to use the word "catchy" to describe anything in metal, but they grab the ear in such a way that the word isn't applied incorrectly. And when the drums aren't erupting, they're holding down the fort so that the other members of the band can zoom up and down the necks of the guitar and cello, respectively.
All in all, Pearl and the End of Days is a solid step up from the previous full-length and one of the best releases of 2013 thus far.
Nice review Red. Agree on the "massive improvement in their sound without necessarily needing it" point, this one is just so much livelier.
ReplyDeleteThanks. I believe I mentioned it on Metal Bandcamp, but it bears repeating: this EP kinda makes "All We Destroy" sound a little less awesome.
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