Band Name: Royal Anguish Demo Title: Tales of Sullen Eyes Band Members: Matt Knowles, vocals, rhythm guitars; Katy Decker, vocals; Anthony Smith, drums; Marius Kozlowski, lead guitars; Kaitee Elliott keyboards; Greg Andrews, bass Location: Florida Rating: 2 Skulls Official Web Site for this Artist Discuss on the Metal Judgment Web Board Submit/Read Reader Reviews of this Demo

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Behemoth's Review:
This southern-based unit brings forth their latest work in the demo form in anticipation of garnering industry attention. Interesting to note, Erik Rutan engineered this release; you know, the not-so-temporary guitarist with Morbid Angel. Anyway, this band has made a run at a few previous releases including The Chronicles of Autumn Sorrow and with an album title as such, you know the direction we are heading - haunting melodic material. Tales of the Sullen Eyes contains five tracks and includes "Twisted Angel," "Until I'm Dead," "The Loneliness of One," "The Tale of Sullen Eyes," and the best and brightest, "Tortured Visions 2004."

Basically, the band plays symphonic Gothic/Death metal music, featuring the abundant use of keyboards and operatic femme vocals, which are meshed nicely with European orientated guitars. The songs are well composed with variable time changes spaced within melody-based arrangements. The music appears well written, and the band is obviously competent. The drummer showcases speed, guitarists have decent solos, and the lead singer respectable growls. However, there’s a bit of inconsistency at times, as we are unsure of specifically what direction the band wants to take their music.

This release demonstrates a significant step forward for Royal Anguish. Production wise, of course Rutan is on the mark. Overall, a decent listen, and with a bit more diversity within their musical a successful future is evident.

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