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░ ██ ██ Artist: Relentless ██ ██
▓ █░░ ■█ Album: Souls of Charon █■ ░░█
■ █▓▀ █ Year: 2013 █ ▀▓█ ░
█ ▓ Rel. Date: 2015-10-17 ▓ █
▒ ▒ Genre: Heavy Metal ▒ ▒
█▄ ░ Label: Do or Die Records ░ ▄█
░ █▄ ░ Source: CD ░ ▄█
░ █▓ Type: Album ▓█ ░
▓ █ Quality: VBR, 44.1kHz, Joint Stereo █ ░ ▓
▓ █ █ ░ ▓
▄ ■ ■ ▓ ■
░█ █░ ▀
█ ôSouls of Charonö by Relentless is a very █
█ unpolished doom metal album with clean █
█ reverberated female vocals that lend a slight █
█ occult rock vibe while also lending a very strong █
█ vibe of amateurism and incompetence. Emotionless, █
█ bored, off-key, shaky, and even cringeworthy at █
█ times; these vocals destroy what would otherwise █
█ be a relatively suitable release. As the singer █
█ mumbles along, it is almost the kind of █
█ performance you can tune out, as if Relentless █
█ were playing in a bar while the listener is far █
█ away from the stage and attempting to engage in █
█ conversation. Any such conversation would at times █
█ come to a screeching halt because vocalist Carlee █
█ Jackson often slips from bored to piercingly █
█ inadequate. This is especially true on ôForever █
█ Damnedö where the vocals are painfully strained █
█ and the lyrics ôTake my hand and follow me WeÆll █
█ leave this place of miseryö are absolutely █
█ butchered as the vocalist tries and fails to hit █
█ notes well above her mumble-register range. Even █
█ later in this song, as in most places on ôSouls of █
█ Charon,ö one can easily imagine that the lyrics █
█ are ômeh meh bleh bleh mehö since the vocals are █
█ always mumbled and almost never articulated. One █
█ strikingly incongruous lyrical moment is towards █
█ the end of the album with the line ôtrapped for █
█ eternity,ö a bold statement, starkly contrasted by █
█ vocals disinterestedly delivered as if those words █
█ mean nothing. At one point in the album the vocals █
█ even start off with some lyrics that appear later █
█ in the song and nervously fade away abruptly. █
█ Maybe Carlee missed her cue and the band never █
█ bothered to edit the track or ran out of time to █
█ re-record it? █
█ Vocals aside, that band has a rather doomy overall █
█ flavor and approach and the guitar riffs and solos █
█ are frequently in the traditional metal vein. The █
█ song structures are also a bit rock influenced, █
█ yet the consistent strumming of the same handful █
█ of chords and over-reliance on repetition may █
█ instead indicate amateurism. Things are as if the █
█ band hasnÆt been writing music long enough to █
█ recognize when to introduce changes or playing █
█ music long enough to get bored with repeating the █
█ same couple of notes for half of an entire song, █
█ e.g. ôBetter off Dead.ö Along with the excess █
█ repetition, the songs also saunter along due to █
█ the conservative drumming, which is more █
█ interesting than a metronome would be, but █
█ infrequently anything more than that. The guitar █
█ solos could be much better and take cues from the █
█ singer, in that they are lacking enough emotion, █
█ although they are much more tolerable due to █
█ giving a semblance of hitting the appropriate █
█ notes. Guitar solos, and the tone as a whole, █
█ could also be improved because the band quite █
█ foolishly decided to hard pan the rhythm and solo █
█ tracks, which removes a lot of punch from the █
█ music. None of these other particular issues are █
█ major enough to make Relentless a bad band, but █
█ their current vocalist easily decides that █
█ question and moots other considerations. █
█ █
█ --- █
█ █
█ Relentless is a Chicago based doom metal outfit █
█ that was formed in 2012. The band's debut album, █
█ Souls of Charon, was released in November of 2013 █
█ through Do or Die Records and features six tracks █
█ of doom metal that brings Sabbathian riffs, █
█ classic rock styled guitar solos and smooth and █
█ clear female vocals. The band features past and █
█ current members of notable acts They Die █
█ Screaming, Scythe, Deathcult and Cryptic Fog, to █
█ name a few, so although the band is a newcomer to █
█ the scene, the members already have some street █
█ cred. █
█ Like many acts in this genre, Relentless is able █
█ to summon their inner Black Sabbath while managing █
█ to stay somewhat fresh. All six tracks are █
█ plodding, doom-laden dirges that fully embrace the █
█ mantra of ôless is moreö. The drums are fairly █
█ minimalistic, sticking to a plodding approach that █
█ makes heavy use of the toms in it's slow rolling, █
█ feeding life to the plodding bass lines and palm █
█ muted riffs. The guitars and bass have that █
█ classic Sabbathian layer of fuzz that gives a █
█ nostalgic, almost analog feel to the music. █
█ There's an almost psychedelic, stoner metal feel █
█ to the guitar and bass, because of all the fuzz, █
█ but their sound stays firmly rooted in the doomy █
█ depths. The music is nothing original; not by a █
█ long stretch, but Relentless are able to keep your █
█ head banging with their rhythmic plodding and █
█ heavy riffing. The guitar and bass are tight and █
█ the riffing is solid. While most of the ride is █
█ relatively slow paced and dirge-like in approach, █
█ there are an abundance of faster paced riffs and █
█ solos throughout. These faster sections, while █
█ still from the Iommi school, call to mind the work █
█ of traditional metal acts like Accept and Judas █
█ Priest. Just check out the riffing during ôBetter █
█ Off Deadö and ôFinal Wishesö or the cyclical lead █
█ guitars and syncopation during the title track to █
█ see what I mean. On the other end, some of the █
█ lead guitar lines and solos do actually add more █
█ of the bluesy psychedelic vibe, sounding more █
█ inspired by Jimi Hendrix and Eric Clapton, as █
█ evidenced on ôForever Damnedö, but it manages to █
█ sound more fresh than dated. █
█ Hands down, the album's highlight lies in vocalist █
█ Carlee Jackson, whose clear delivery is strong yet █
█ modest. Rather than storming to the front, █
█ Jackson's vocals range from a quiet, breathy █
█ style, at times calling to mind the delivery of █
█ Janis Joplin, to a higher register, crystalline █
█ style that sounds exactly like what I imagined a █
█ female counterpart to most classic doom singers █
█ would sound. Her delivery accentuates the band's █
█ minimalistic doom perfectly and her vocals never █
█ drown on the rest of the instruments. I can tell █
█ that Jackson has a solid range, but she never █
█ really lets it go with any wails. I think the █
█ performance could be utterly stellar if she let █
█ herself loose. Regardless, she has a unique voice █
█ for doom metal that works wonders with the band's █
█ style. ôForever Damnedö shows how the band's union █
█ with Jackson is near perfect, as her voice █
█ harmonizes with the lead guitar lines with ease. █
█ Relentless has the potential to make a huge impact █
█ on the doom metal scene. Their solid mix of doomy █
█ dirges with traditional metal riffing, a few █
█ psychedelic touches (but not too much) and the █
█ excellent vocals of Carlee Jackson show Relentless █
█ to be an act to watch. This may be a debut album █
█ but it is a contender for one of my favorite doom █
█ albums of the year. This is solid music that █
█ throws back yet manages to steer clear riff █
█ necromancy. I'd like to see the vocals a little █
█ more loose and wild, but they are still stellar █
█ the way they are. Bottom line: Souls of Charon is █
█ an excellent debut worthy of your attention. █
▓ ▓
▒ ▒
░ 1. Trapped Underground 5:56 ░
░ 2. Better Off Dead 5:36 ░
░ 3. United by Darkness 4:44 ░
░ 4. Final Wishes 4:21 ░
░ 5. Forever Damned 8:47 ░
░ 6. Souls of Charon 6:47 ░
░ 36:11 ░
░ ▒ ▒
▓ █ ░ ▓ ░
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