Artist: Lost Soul
Label: Relapse Records
Release Date: 10/17/00
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Title: Scream of the Mourning Star Artist: Lost Soul Label: Relapse Records Release Date: 10/17/00 |
Judgment Committee Reviews | Rating |
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3 | ||
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3 | ||
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4 | ||
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Go to Reader Reviews | ||
Abyss's Review:
On first listen there doesn’t seem to be much more to this band than your typical brutal death band, but upon repeated listening, subtle nuances begin emerging, and I now think that there is nothing straightforward about this band at all. Each song seems different from the other. Some incorporate layered keyboards that remind one of the early Norwegian black metal movement, and yet others sound like stripped down death, sloppily recorded on a 4-track in a garage. Still others appear to attempt to impress with the riff/solo attack much the way the 80s thrash movement did. What results is an album that is hard to grasp, and even harder to gauge.
"It’s either brilliant or boring, and I haven’t figured out which yet." The vocals seem to tie all of the songs together, never really veering from the vomited death metal type growl. There are some screams and some spoken words on various songs, but for the most part the vocals are constant. When the songs work (one of the best being “Malediction”), it can be a very satisfying experience, but due to the lack of any ballast to keep the album on keel, taking in the album as a whole is proving quite challenging for me. One can hear the plethora of different influences on this album, but for some reason none of the songs really stand out. When it comes down to it, they are all played at a very brisk pace, and the production is very raw, and even though I appreciate a lot of what I’m hearing, I can’t help but feel a little disappointed at the way it’s brought together.
The biggest problem I’m having is that this record seems to be one big contradiction. Simple and intricate. Raw and refined. And while I would normally consider this to be an asset, I find myself lost every time I put this disc on. I do believe the more I listen to it the more I’ll appreciate it, because there is a lot of cool shit on this disc, but I haven’t gotten to that point yet. The best complement is that I haven’t felt this challenged by an album in a long time, but, at the same time, it feels like I’m being challenged by something too simple, like I’m over-thinking the obvious. I ended up giving this album a 3 because it’s either brilliant or boring, and I haven’t figured out which yet.
Death's Review:
Fast death metal from Poland. That may be enough right there for you to get the idea. Poland has made quite the splash on the American death metal scene of late, with Vader, The Yattering and thrashier bands like Decapitated getting some attention. Lost Soul are faster than many of them, and yet still manage to sound like an interesting mix between veterans Immolation, Morbid Angel and Cannibal Corpse at times. There is, of course, a bit of a slightly blacker element among these Lost Soul proceedings than is found in Cannibal Corpse or Morbid Angel, and that Cradle –style subtle vocal scream and layer of choral “atmosphere” emerges at points. Still, this is death metal through and through. Describing it as anything else would be entirely missing the point.
"They do sound fierce. It’s just that overall, the music can be fiercely uninteresting." Lost Soul’s best feature is the precision of their attack. They do sound fierce. It’s just that overall, the music can be fiercely uninteresting. Even though the band does actually slow down a bit and make room for the Corpse or Angel groove riff or Immolation pick harmonic riff every now and again, and often sounds very tight doing it, Scream of the Morning Star feels like one speed from start to finish. Well-executed, good riffs, good but for the most part (some of the Dark Angel “Ancient Inherited Shame” –type stuff in “Tabernaculum Miser” is perhaps one set of exceptions) it doesn’t make the hair stand up on the back of my neck.
Hel's Review:
If album titles garnered bonus points, Lost Soul would get a few for Scream of the Mourning Star. Menacing, different, subtle, and clever - I like it. The ingenuity of the title is further reflected in the music, which is pretty standard death metal fare on one hand, yet utilizes enough non-standard elements to make it interesting and a bit unique on the other hand.
"Each musician leaves a legacy of brutality on this little round plastic disc." As is so often the case with bands that make it to the Judgment Committee level for review, the musicianship is commendable. Each musician leaves a legacy of brutality on this little round plastic disc, with blistering guitar solos and pummeling double bass acting as the linchpin to the madness. Madness abounds throughout the record, with smatterings of ambient keys more commonly found in black metal, and the occasional high-pitched scream thrown in between the otherwise omnipresent low, guttural vox.
However, while Lost Soul is interesting and inventive enough to sidestep being commonplace, they are not interesting and inventive enough to be truly remarkable, no matter how fond I am of their album title. In any event, this is a talented band I’d never heard of until recently, and when it comes to death metal, that’s a bonus in and of itself.
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