After the rather poor and clearly low-budget demo recording Wolf is Coming, Sjuk slowly got themselves back to work. The French Folk Metal act took two years to finally head back into the studio and record the follow-up, an independently released EP entitled Time Has Come.... Usually such a long amount of time to between releases for such a young, unknown act could be very detrimental and be very hard for them to make up for lost time. However, in the case of Sjuk, this was perhaps the right move for them...
One of the most notable things about the EP is that it does not sound a thing like their debut demo. The quality here actually sounds like a good recording, and not just something recorded through a computer's microphone jack and layered together. Everything here is leveled nicely, and nothing gets drowned out. The guttural vocals stand out well amid the supporting Folk music coming from the distorted guitars that sound heavy and traditional for the style, but act more as a secondary instrument over the bass that seems to really take control of things at times due to a louder, but not much, and far more dominant stance. This really works to establish the beat and feel a little more genuine towards the Folk sound, giving the music a bit of a more upbeat sound despite the heavier riffs played. The drumming is fantastic here too with the cymbals at a matching level as the rest of the instruments, the snares a thick wooden sound, and the bass kicks that go in the deeper thud direction to work with the bass. But with this all comes a far more natural flute sound that doesn't come in at an obnoxiously loud and clean level, and the keyboards feel more unique to the style instead of just a default setting that was programmed in by the manufacturer. Some of the contributions here are still a little on the simpler side, but overall the EP feels a lot richer, and genuinely shows the growth the band has made.
All of this comes off nicely right at the start with the drum and flute introduction that feels tighter and far more complex for the band. The music expands to the other instruments, and you can't help but want to get up immediately and start dancing in some manner to the rather upbeat, joyous music Sjuk lays onto the table. The lighter tone is carried well for this introduction track, and immediately grabs the listener with its rich sound. This leads into "Frojd's Booze," a song carried over from the band's demo, and it's great to hear it the way it's meant to be. The flutes here simply sound magnificent the second it starts with a beat that will have you tapping your feet along. It doesn't really stay upbeat for too long, bringing in a heavier sound eventually with a nice transition in.
With that said, it also needs to be acknowledged that Sjuk doesn't really bring much of a unique sound to this recording. That's not too bad, but it ends up understandable to some of the more traditional songs that make up the EP. Honestly, some of the more upbeat elements of Time Has Come end up being the most impressive, such as the start of "Frojd's Booze." The closing to that track, however, isn't the most amazing, and while not boring, it doesn't have the same impact that it started with. But this doesn't work for every track, as the keyboards for "The Beginning" actually don't quite work out well. It's clear they are meant to sound more like bagpipes, but in the end they really just don't, coming off far more artificial than the band probably intended them to. It's not a bad instrumental overall, and takes on more of a pirate theme, but with a better effect on the keyboards it could have easily been much stronger. And, well, if that sound is a real bagpipe, then it's shocking since it doesn't really come off like that here.
"For Our Land" is another track that stands out well. The keyboards give the song a nice light-hearted tone amid the serious, downtrodden atmosphere that many bridges and the verses give it. The additional disparaging flutes really compliment the mix well, and the guitar solo is nicely times and very suiting to the song in general. The atmosphere here really is what makes the song work and feel more like a Folk Metal song with a good deal of passion behind it, while not being afraid to make it something you can picture being performed around a campfire with a caravan of wanderers in the woods. This is one of the few songs on here that really sets a solid atmosphere, joining "The Announcement" and even "The Beginning" in that respect.
Time Has Come really shows a lot of improvement from the band, and it's clear that two-year wait was well worth it as far as the quality of their music goes. If you heard the band's demo, it's worth just putting right out of your mind, especially walking into this one. The album carries a good Folk atmosphere with it throughout the release, though some songs have a stronger environment than others obviously. While this does show off the bands pros, it also does show off some of its cons, which end up being the band stepping too close to traditional Folk Metal music with nothing much to offer, leaving a bit of a bland "been there, heard that" taste in the mouth of listeners. There's no denying Sjuk has definitely grown here, and at the time of writing this the EP is available as a free download on their website. If you like Folk Metal, than Time Has Come is a free release that is worth taking the time to experience.
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Digital review copy of this release provided by:
Sjuk. |
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