The Demo Review:
Band Name: The Funeral Pyre
Band Members: Alex Hernandez (drums), John Strachan (vocals), Adam Campbell (bass), Jason Dunn (guitar), Jimmy Joyce (guitar)

Rating: 4 Skulls

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    • Dguy's Review:
    So, my second demo review for MJ is here. I figured for this one, I'd dig through the pile and pick out the most mysterious and ambiguous of all the demos . . . and damn, I picked a winner! The Funeral Pyre play a style of black metal akin to Prometheus-era Emperor, and some Dissection, mixed with bits of modern metalcore (think good metalcore, like The Classic Struggle and Reflux). All I can say is that this demo is excellent. The guitar/bass work is very nice . . . a bit of fun scale shredding, but not enough to make it obnoxious. The vocals are standard fare black metal shrieks, yet I can't help but scream along with some of the lyrics ("ISENGARD MUST FALLLL!!!!"). The only problem, music-wise, is the drummer. His blasts and double bass lose a lot of steam after awhile. Lastly, the demo's production is excellent; pure and crystal clear. And on the intro and outro, you can hear quite a bit of Ulver influence (the intro being a creepy piano fill, and the outro being a somber bit of acoustic guitar). I'd really like to write a longer review for these guys, but their press package was virtually non-existent and I have zero info to go on. So in conclusion: I thoroughly enjoyed this demo, and if these guys ever make it big, I would definitely recommend them if you are into anything from Emperor to The Black Dahlia Murder. Thrash ‘til fucking death!
    4 out of 5

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