Tuesday 11 September 2012

Within The Fall - Through The Shadows EP


This is the new four track EP from Swedish Death/Doom band Within The Fall. Having already graced this blog with their 2011 demo A Story To Be Told, when I received news of this EP, I was looking forward to hearing how they've progressed.

Within The Fall themselves were started in 2010 by vocalist Joakim Rudemyr (also of Desolator) and guitarist Mike Wennestrand, later recruiting David Andersson and Markus Norlen (also in Black/Death band Disowned and formerly of Thrash band Domination).

Tracklist:-

1. Into The Arms of Grief
2. Leaving
3. Shadows & Dust
4. The Burial


Death/Doom bands have always under whelmed me in the past, as they've always been a bit too much Death and not enough Doom. That said, I take bands on artistic merit and musicianship and try not to pigeonhole them.

Initial impressions of opener Into The Arms of Grief are really impressive. Within The Fall play intelligently and don't over egg the Death metal influence, choosing to flit between Doom passages and semi-Thrash riffs. The vocals are Death metal inspired growls, but are not overpowering like other bands. This is also the shortest of the four songs on show here at just over five minutes, so it was always going to have that sense of urgency about it.

Things start heading towards a slower, more atmospheric direction with Leaving. The lengthy, guitar driven build up leads you to more deathly growls. There's a great hint of subtle melody thanks to some cleanly played guitar. It certainly shows Within The Fall are genuinely comfortable with altering their blueprint. They even have time to throw in a bit of clean singing!

Within The Fall are able to experiment and throw in different soundscapes and influences, which make this EP a very assured effort indeed. Shadows & Dust follows on from the textures in Leaving, with more whispered vocals and use of melody to break up the mournful atmosphere. The music does take a bit of a turn part way through, thanks to some rousing double bass, which again underlines the bands Death Metal beginnings.

The Burial is probably the most introspective track on Through The Shadows. The plucked guitar and layered melody, along with those characteristic whispered vocals give it a quite beautiful feel and the singing that comes later, just reinforces that praise.
 
Overall, I was pretty taken aback by this EP. The breadth of musicianship here is brilliant and it's almost how I picture Death/Doom to sound. Within The Fall seem to nail it and as a result, should grow and flourish.
See what you think, via Within The Fall's bandcamp page:-

The EP is up there as a name your price download.

You can also check out Within The Fall on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/WithinTheFall.

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