CoC : Odes Of Ecstasy - Atheistic Emotions : Review

Odes Of Ecstasy - _Atheistic Emotions_
by: Adrian Bromley (2 out of 5)

Let me just get this off my chest right off the bat okay? Black Sabbath's classic song "Paranoid" should not be sung as a duet, with two singers taking turns with one providing death metal growls while the other singer (whom happens to be female) providing soft and eloquent gospel-like vocals. It just doesn't work - sorry. Anyway, the rest of Greece's Odes Of Ecstasy does not bother me as much, but still there are a few problems with this demo. One up front is the fact that the music and vocals don't seem to pair off too well. I don't like the switch from death growls to soft vocals too much as both vocals seem to be recorded and added to distant from each other within the mix. Nothing exciting happening there. It may work for bands like In Flames and Amorphis but here we are lost within the transition. Too bad too as the female vocals (done by Christina Maniati) work fine on several numbers (minus the cover song) and the strength and power of the growls work fine at times too. Personally I like what OoE are doing musically with the use of keyboards and dramatic ideas helping shape the band's symphonic and atmospheric death metal, but it is just a shame that this record, their first demo is a hit and miss.

Contact: ODES OF ECSTASY, c/o D. Bikos

(article published 16/3/1997)

ALBUMS
7/8/1998	B Meloon	7	Odes of Ecstasy - Embossed Dream in Four Acts