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Promising but held back from the overall quality.-
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| Stilllife: Requiem |
Heavy Metal, Progressive Metal
self financed
April 5th, 2011
- Intro to... - 1:39
- A Godless World - 6:18
- 12-Steps - 8:26
- Fruit of the Fallen Tree - 8:27
- Directive Four - 5:41
- Hypocryticism/The Becoming - 10:23
- Requiem Part I: The Oracle - 10:07
- Requiem Part II: The Vision - 6:13
- Requiem Part III: The Only Resolution - 6:18
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| Review Information |
Release length: 1:03:32
Review posted on April 20th, 2011
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| | Overall Score: 7/10 |
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| Discography |
Discography covers all information available up to day of review and is updated if future albums are reviewed. |
| Full-Length(s): |
Requiem (2011)
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| Review |
Stilllife is a U.S. Progressive and Heavy Metal act from Michigan. Instead of going the traditional route of putting out some demos and maybe an EP, the group has whipped up Requiem, their debut full-length EP, but a self-financed production. Given the amount of good press this band has been seeing lately, all signs point to this full-length being a highly impressive effort from the group. Of course, this is still an independent release after all, so it's bound to have some faults here and there, which, sadly, it does.
Requiem isn't necessarily a bad album, however the production leaves it feeling a little more open and hollow then it should. Stilllife definitely incorporate some good ideas, taking from legends like Iron Maiden and even some Iced Earth to state the obvious influences that show through in the compositions for the recording. Most of the time, the band does a good job at paying homage to these types of bands, and the music comes off more like a Heavy Metal album then anything, utilizing a more Progressive approach through some atmospheres and the traditional jumping around of speeds, though still retaining some lighter musical influence at times from typical bands of the style, though not taking on much of a complex approach to it. "12-Steps" is the first to really break down and take on one of these Progressive sections, as the song shifts a few times musically, almost in a manner that Opeth would use to create an air of atmosphere. This, however, is a little more soothing and bass driven to the point where it sounds a little Jazz inspiration. This eats up a good chunk of the ending to the track, and really just extends the life of the song, and after a little while it does feel like the band is beating a dead horse with it.
But, that sadly is not the worst of the recording. The overall quality of the recording comes off raw, which is what anyone could expect from an independent recording that was funded by a band, but the problem is that the music is rather hollow, lacking the richness that it so rightly deserves. The music itself is often really good and the bass carries it along nicely. However, during some slower, softer sections, or faster and more dominating like the start of "Fruit of the Fallen Tree", the double bass feels a little louder then the guitars, and the vocals really dominate the mix. There's a strong echo effect that gives off a strong Progressive vibe to the vocals, though they are clean and come off more as something one might hear in a Power Metal effort. These, like the music when you look past the hollow recording quality, are actually quite impressive, but pose the biggest problem to the recording: Horrible harmonization. At times, the vocals will be layered to make them stronger, typically a move in the chorus of a song, and while it's a good idea and does manage to make those passages to the album a lot stronger, it's done so horribly wrong and leaves the listener cringing as the dueling voices conflict with one another and create the most god awful off-key harmonization possible for a recording like this on many songs, though "Fruit of the Fallen Tree" does hold back on this a bit, and manages to get the pitch right on both of the layered vocals that it sounds good, and "Hypocriticism/The Becoming" feels like a much stronger song with a better vocal performance with more energy at times, and layered vocals that are properly harmonized. These moments show that the band does has the talent, it sadly just doesn't show properly in the final mix of Requiem for one reason or another.
Despite all that, Stilllife is a group that does seem to have the chops to put together a good album, and much of the faults to this recording seem to stem from the overall quality of the recording itself more then the band, which is quite sad really. Sure, not all the tracks are that great, as "Fruit of the Fallen Tree" feels a little bland as it goes on, and some tracks feel a bit too exhausted by the group, but "A Godless World" still stands as a strong track despite it's faults, and "Directive Four" is actually quite an impressive heavily Progressive instrumental. "Hypocriticism/The Becoming" is another strong track off the recording that feels like the band put more energy and effort into it in the long run, even the slower Progressive atmospheric passage is a little more enjoyable then the one on "A Godless World", though it's really not much of a change then what they did for that song, but just the vocals in the background and the manner in which they are executed add a little more to it that manages to keep the listener attentive. Finally you have the final three tracks, which become the "Requiem" trilogy, taking up a little more then twenty four minutes of the album. These songs become a fantastic idea, but immediately on "Requiem, Pt. 1: The Oracle", it becomes clear the vocalist should avoid singing in a low voice, as the starting vocals here sound so dramatically off-key that it's almost enough to not progress through these songs. And, yes, they are performed quite often on the song, but not enough to truly say they ruin the song in any way. That track makes for a nice introduction to the following two parts, which are perhaps the strongest songs off the recording next to "Hypocriticism/The Becoming".
Musically, Stilllife has a lot going for them. The band has some great songs on here, especially with the closing "Requiem" trilogy being the strongest, though the vocals on "Part 1" leave a little more to be desired. Sadly, it feels the album is plagued with some production issues, which is to be expected, but the conflicting harmonizations with the layering is something that can't be excused, especially since it's done right later on in the album, as well as a couple songs feeling drawn out thanks to the Progressive influences incorporated. Requiem becomes a nice greeting from the band, showing off the potential they have, and there's no doubt that, given the right producer or studio, the recording will be a lot stronger then what is presented here, and chances are good will blow the listener away, but not before the band does a little more growing as a group. If you want to get in on the ground floor with a good album that shows promise you can get a few good spins out of, especially if you can look past some of the technical flaws which really don't make the album bad or impossible to listen to, then Stilllife's Requiem is worth giving a shot.
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Digital review copy of this release provided by:
Clawhammer PR.
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