UNDERGROUND A&R REPORT

SOLACE OF REQUIEM - Utopia Reborn

I get lots of death metal that just does not add up to shit. This disc is not of that caliber. First off, this is a three piece band, which in death metal is not all that common; Usually death heads have to have two guitarists and a keyboardist making spooky sounds to try and make the grade. Solace Of Requiem instead take the base back to thrash, where original death metal came from. There are the blast beats (how the hell can you have a real metal band without them!), but aside from a few stampedes (Beyond Grace), the band focuses on moving time signatures, melodic leads, and some actual singing, not just growling and screaming. They do not forget that doom does play a role (Cry Out For Mercy), but that mystic corridors of power, the cruel discrimination of real life and death, are much more interesting (Language Of The Gods). Everywhere on this disc, the technical abilities of the individual band members coming together as a potent whole, are evident. This band may at the core be old school, but they'll teach you a thing or two about real metal. Contact: http://www.solreq.com, http://www.hammermillrecords.com, http://www.cmdistro.com