We Are The Sons of Faow Verny - Grimreapers on Unicorns: Book1

Here's my last Orchidscent Records review. This release is also a little different to previous records I've reviewed. It features We Are The Sons of Faow Verny, who feature various members of bands who have all released records through Orchidscent and are more of an acoustic, folk act. This is their first CD and was put out as a collaborative release by Orchidscent, A l'ombre de cette vie and No Way Asso. The CD came in a very imaginative case, a two-sided and folded sleeve which had the artwork on the front and inside housed the lyrics and credits. It even came with a band logo sticker! Check out the picture below (courtesy of the bands own Facebook page)

Tracklist:-

1. The Oddreamers
2. I'm So Bad
3. The Better Days
4. After The Shore
5. Grace O'Malley's Ballad
6. The Grimreapers

7. The Sons of Faow Verny

The first thing that people will notice about Grimreapers on Unicorns: Book 1 is that the vocals are in English. The members playing in ...Sons of Faow Verny would ordinarily be heard in French speaking bands. This band is very different though. There's no electric guitar or screaming. Acoustic guitar, clean singing and a glokenspiel replace these instruments!

It's very folky and for the most part, it's instrumental. It has a lot in common with traditional French folk music, in the use of different instruments alongside the traditional guitars. The glockenspiel and other percussion add texture and interested to their music. The Oddreamers opens things up nicely with the aforementioned glockenspiel and a great melody. I'm So Bad features so ingenious drumming, which starts things off in restrained fashion. A tambourine keeps the beat for the rest of the song. The guitars here almost sound Hispanic and the vocal harmonies show that all the members are fully into what they're doing.

It's always interesting to hear music written by people who normally play in metal/hardcore bands that isn't heavy or in their comfort zone, as it shows you how accomplished they are as musicians and that they are for the most part, multi-dimensional. This is definitely the case with ...Sons of Faow Verny. After The Shore is interspersed with a sample with a lot of meaning, which hints at the thought put into the song. Grace O'Malley's Ballad, as the name suggests, has an Irish folk feel to it. It's really quite effective too. I could just imagine these guys playing in a traditional pub in Ireland, with everyone having a great time.

The keyboard makes itself heard more during The Grimreapers. As the title closes this CD, it's been a really pleasant surprise. If you are tired of listening to heavy music and want something creative and more restrained, you could do a lot worse than pick this up.

You can listen to the whole CD via ...Sons of Faow Verny's website at http://www.wearethesonsoffaowverny.com/

To buy a copy of the CD, head to one of the below labels:-

Orchidscent Records - http://orchidscentrecords.blogspot.co.uk/
A l'ombre de cette vie -  http://alombredecettevie.blogspot.co.uk/
No Way Asso - http://nowayasso.blogspot.co.uk/

We Are The Sons of Faow Verny are also on Facebook here - https://www.facebook.com/pages/We-are-the-sons-of-Faow-Verny.