The Firstborn's origins go back to the year 1995, and their music is classified as progressive/experimental metal. With their latest release titled The Noble Search, this Portugal based band have chosen the theme "Buddhist scriptures and the multiple paths to nirvana". Their music certainly has many ingredients both mild and aggressive, with multiple levels of intensity throughout the album. The tracks presented also are quite diverse in tempo, "Water Transformation" is a good example starting out moderately slow and heavy before exploding into a frantic speed fest, Bruno Fernandes's vocals being quite dark and aggressive at times. On The Noble Search, The Firstborn have also included such touches as additional vocalists, extra percussion and a sitar player, combining with those performances delivered by The Firstborn's members.
I wasn't really taken in by The Noble Search overall, but for those interested be sure to check out the samples of their music, which can be found on the link below to The Firstborn's MySpace page.
Track list:
1. Illumination of the Five Realms
2. Water Transformation
3. Flesh to the Crows
4. Sunyata (The Wisdom of Emptiness)
5. The Noble Search
6. In Praise of Reality
7. Bliss
8. Ocean of the One Vehicle