Delian League - _Day of Question_
by: Brian Meloon (3.5 out of 5)
Delian League are from New Jersey, and play a hybrid style of metal with
musical influences from the '80s and '90s and a vocalist who sounds like
he could be from a late '80s metal band. The three songs here are similar
in style, but all have unique identities. "The Questioning" opens the
demo off with a few pretty generic '80s metal riffs, and retains this
base throughout the song. There is a short section that's a little more
progressive, and the solo is neoteric, but overall this song is pretty
run-of-the-mill. "Final Day" is an improvement, starting off with a
short generic riff, and then moving into more intricate and progressive
riffs as the song progresses. A few of the sections are reminiscent
of Red Tide's _Expressions_ demo [CoC #3], and the song also features
a more memorable chorus. The closer "Days of Regret" is the best of
the bunch, adding keyboards, and featuring a catchy -- but not overly
sweet -- chorus. There's a good mix of heaviness with melody here,
including a section with keyboards atop tremolo-picked guitar lines
that wouldn't sound out of place in a lighter version of Dimmu Borgir.
The songs generally flow pretty well, and they're structured in a way
that makes them comfortable, but not predictable. There are a few
rough transitions though, mostly when they move into a faster gear.
The playing is good to very good on all counts, with the vocals being
particularly strong. I'm generally not a fan of clean vocals, since
many vocalists are either too wimpy or too whiny or too screechy or
just plain annoying. But this guy is quite good, and is able to keep
a good balance of aggression and melody in his voice. The guitars are
pretty well done, and most of the solos fit the music quite well, with
the notable exception of the last half of the last solo in "Final Day",
which has a very amateur feel to it. The bass and drums don't really
stand out to me, but seem to do a competent job. There are a few places
where the band aren't as tight as they could be, and they'll have to work
on this in the future, but this is a relatively minor quibble. _Day of Question_ is a promising demo, and should be enjoyed by those looking for something fresh and a little progressive, but not too extreme or experimental.
Facebook
Twitter ::
:
::
HTML :
CSS ::
All contents copyright 1995-2024 their individual creators. All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission.
All opinions expressed in Chronicles of Chaos are opinions held at the time of writing by the individuals expressing them.
They do not necessarily reflect the opinions of anyone else, past or present.