TijaD: Orpheus

The little press release that arrived with the debut TijaD release Orpheus, explains that this is a demo effort, with a less than pristine sound to match. So wading through a muddy mix and tinny guitars is undoubtedly an unavoidable task if Orpheus is to be assessed. Unfortunately, even with that information in mind, extreme metal is tough going without a rip-snorting production to bolster the weedy assault into a behemoth like barrage. Fortunately however this one man Dutch outfit (with occasional, uncredited guest vocals) are actually quite good. Yes, there are huge dollops of early Opeth, with a mix of trudging riffs and growled vocals, playing against atmospheric clean vocals and acoustic guitars - the latter aspect of which suffers far less from the limited recording budget and facilities. In fact it is the plaintive piano and guitars of "As Eurydice Lies Dying" that really provides a glimpse of how interesting TijaD's songwriting could become with more time to develop a more individual style. At the moment, the off kilter key changes and dark, melancholic harmony vocals scream of Akerfeldt and Co, but delve a little deeper and there's a hint of a very English, traditional, progressive hew underneath it all. Something the more modern, Scandinavian extreme prog that we have become used to in recent years, seldom possesses. Hints of church organ and bright piano pulse into view with snatches of Genesis and even Camel cascading into sight, if only for a few seconds at a time, before the claustrophobic guitars smother all in their sights again.

There is a surprising breadth to the likes of "The Descendence To The Underworld", "Love Is The Worst Pain" and "In The End You're Alone" and while some of the clean vocals could do with a coat of tunefulness, there's no denying that TijaD knows how to deliver diverse music in an engaging fashion. Promising though Orpheus is, which as the name suggests is an album which covers Greek mythology in quite some detail, I can't help but wonder how this release would sound with a more brutal, yet also more forgiving production. With the strength of what has been brought together here, hopefully this project's next offering will let us find out.

Track Listing
1. The Forest #1
2. Dance Of The Satyr
3. As Eurydice Lies Dying
4. The Descendence To The Underworld
5. At The Gates Of Tartarus
6. Love Is The Worst Pain
7. In The End You're Alone
8. The Forest #2

Added: July 14th 2012
Reviewer: Steven Reid
Score:
Related Link: TijaD Online
Hits: 3234
Language: english

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