CoC : Suffering Souls - Cries of Silence : Review

Suffering Souls - _Cries of Silence_
by: Alvin Wee (4 out of 5)

What an obscure release... Out of Germanic forests rises a new four-piece claiming to play "German Black Metal Art". More a demo CD than an official MCD, this little underground three-tracker offers nothing more than old-school synth-laden hymns to the night in typically mediocre Norse fashion. Failing to achieve the depth of Nargaroth or the raw simplicity of Moonblood, _CoS_ comes off as trying too hard to squeeze something out of a genre that's already been milked to death. Credit goes to the highly ambitious arrangements and commendable musicianship, signs that a band is ready to offer more than the one-off recording on sundry overnight labels. Sadly, such run-of-the-mill material might have easily reaped much label attention in Behemoth's demo-days (strange how this one brings to mind _From the Pagan Vastlands_), but today's competitive scene demands a much greater kick in the balls than generic Norsecore. All said, these boys (and a girl) won't be toppling over so easily; the quality of _CoS_ bodes well for things to come, and underground-minded labels might like to check out this ambitious young act, as they're unsigned as far as I know. No price, but 10 bucks should do the trick.

Contact: Suffering Souls, c/o Tobias Micko, Scwalbenweg 15,

(article published 12/8/2000)