Hailing from Virginia is a one-man project name
The
National Cemetery Orchestra and their latest release “Monument”
continues their old-school death/thrash sound. Karl Nix writes everything
and plays all of the instruments, which is quite impressive in itself. The
Nation Cemetery Orchestra is an instrumental oriented band that blasts extreme
metal into your ears. From the pounding eerie intro to an outro even more
mysterious, you will find a vibe in the likes of Sadus, Morbid Angel, Brutality,
Sinister, Slayer, Oppressor, and Incantation. It’s aggressive for
the most of the eight tracks and forty-seven minutes. The death/thrash riffage
is the best part of the disc and at times is as good as an assortment of
classics…however some parts lack in quality, which kind of ruin it
for me. These parts just cut the flow making you feel stranding like you’re
in the middle of the oceans with no land in sight. I found the drum machines
to be a little distracting, taking a part out of the richness of the music.
Also, a few notes are off in my opinion, becoming ear-piercing to the point
of almost being annoying. Tightening up a few parts would help too. A few
of these unpleasant parts drain the energy out of you, and you can become
easily distracted. Production isn’t horrible, but a little cleaning
wouldn’t hurt. A few parts could even be mixed out. Speaking of which,
did a few parts max-out on the board? It seems there would be a need to
level out those peaks. It’s a shame, if the music could be kept together
for a whole disc, this would be damn good! Second track is the only thing
close. However there are ingredients that show some promise for the future...
Rating: 60
Reviewed By: Jeffrey D. Adkins |
