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| Sealed Shut |
Metal respects its ancestors like no other.
On the same shelf, you can find brand new modern metal sitting right next to, shall we say, vintage styled metal.
So, let's think back to the early 90's when extreme metal was still crawling out of the crypt before bands like Deicide, Cannibal Corpse, Obituary, and Morbid Angel broke out of Tampa Bay.
In those days, there were scores of bands who deserved more but didn't make it. They didn't make it because they never had the money to promote, to record, etc. So, what ended up happening were EPs, Maxi-Singles, and rehearsal tapes.
In 2018, there are still those kinds of bands, but it's different now. In 1992, a black and white album cover wasn't the stylistic choice it is now, but a necessity.
What we have here is an interesting juxtaposition of both being modern, but also being extinct. Haunting existed for only a brief time and the only music they ever put to tape is this EP, Sealed Shut.
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| Haunting |
Aside from Death of Kings, I can't name any other Atlantian, Atlantese(?), Atlanter(?) metal bands.
After taking some time to think about this further, it's easy to see how this band came out of the ATL.
There are four songs and the required "Intro" track.
The tracks are thick, humid, and straightforward.
Apart from that intro, there's no pretense here. Haunting isn't a progressive death metal band. They aren't an avant garde death metal band. Honestly, they're straddling the line between death and grind. Their longest tune is less than more minutes in length.
Unlike several other bands whose music comes to us much later after they're gone, Haunting is a fully formed entity.
Listening to Beyond Death or Buried In Misery didn't make me think, wow, what could these guys have done because this "demo" is ready for release. It doesn't sound like a demo. It doesn't FEEL like a demo.
To overuse the term, the songs are fully formed. The production is fully formed. This collection is ready for release. They don't need to be workshopped anymore.
What I think is, it's a shame, because of how far these guys could have gone instead of what they could have been. What they were, is better than many bands I hear today. So we'll be thankful there is a release.
But, it's probably ok to be a bit greedy. This is an amazing set, but it's only four songs. They burned hot, just like their home. At least we can look at this and hear what could've been.
These five tracks, including the intro, come on a 45RPM single sided vinyl. Let's take a moment to thank Boris Records for putting it out that way. It's a first world problem, and but it's true...it's annoying to flip an album after a song or two.
My copy has zero surface noise or skipping. It's a standard weight vinyl. It's hard to go wrong with this one here.
Release: OUT NOW
Genre: Death/Grind
Label: Boris Records
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