Demo Title: The Snow White Rose of Paradise
Band Members: John Welborn - Vocals, guitar, and programming, Doug McAllister - Lead guitar, and programming, and Rich Dunkel - Rhythm guitar
Location: Chicago, Illinois
Rating: 3 Skulls
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Band Name: Empyrean Sky
Demo Title: The Snow White Rose of Paradise Band Members: John Welborn - Vocals, guitar, and programming, Doug McAllister - Lead guitar, and programming, and Rich Dunkel - Rhythm guitar Location: Chicago, Illinois Rating: 3 Skulls
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Sabbath's Review:
My First thought: "fuck! No drummer...but three guitars..."Empyrean Sky's band photo is quite hilarious...it made me laugh pretty hard. They look almost like they are mocking the Metal personality and scene, rather than trying to portray themselves as "Metal" or whatever. On the inside picture, the bald dude is holding the exact same dragon skull I own, and got off the Internet. And I love the brown haired guy's pentagram necklace. (I think he was aiming for the more satanic look, with point down...but he probably didn't think about how the five-pointed star was not only used by pagans, but once used by Christians to represent the five wounds of Jesus. Perhaps an inverted cross necklace would have done the trick better).
Anyway, about the music...these guys have been around since 1997, and call this album their "debut." Well, Metal Judgment calls it a demo so...too bad. Musically, I really liked their harmonies, and they did have some decent hooks; but I could not help being distracted by the programmed drums. The vocals tripped me out - one minute there are vicious screams reminiscent of a Blackened Death style of Metal, and then all of a sudden they turn into very clean and very gay (much like Falconer, but more folk-like). Sometimes the vocals sound like complete blasphemy, and sometimes they sound like a love ballad. Fucking A. I definitely loved the guitars and the enchanting melody they created on this album; however, I was a bit confused by the vocals. For example, it is like this vocally: Death-Black-Power-Heavy-Gay.
Their songs are on the long side as well. And while Empyrean Sky is no Opeth, they still manage to keep the long songs interesting. Their songs averaged about seven minutes.
In conclusion, these guys are great guitar players. I heard very few sloppy solos or misplaced leads; however, I did not dig their vocals very much. Despite some displeasing crap, I still recommend Empyrean Sky to fans of harmonious guitar playing, so, I guess check them out.
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