Review by Adam M on January 23, 2011.

This EP is good old-fashioned Hard Rock that has a good deal of vitality and passion associated with it. The songs are structured around the guitar riffs, which are meaty and catchy simultaneously. There isn’t really a lot of playing time devoted to the three songs here, so Ape must do their best to make the tunes stand out. They manage to do so reasonably well on "...And Then There Were Two".

There is Groove to be found and some small changes of tempo that keeps the listeners interest held up. However, the amount of variety is limited and the band doesn’t have the greatest amount of room to give each track its own distinctive flair. 'Sell Out' was a very good closing track and perhaps the most interesting of what was to be found on the EP as a whole. Despite the slight lack of flair, the band will appeal to both Rock and Metal fans because it straddles the two genres without ever becoming overly involved in either. Comparisons can be made to outfits like the grunge band Alice In Chains, but even then there’s a more metallic nature to be found here than what that group delivers.

The EP is solid, though unspectacular and leaves the listener wanting a greater taste of what Ape can fully achieve. There is still some enjoyment to be had here. Ape is a good Hard Rock or Metal outfit that shows the ability to perform songs that have a strong rhythm. The songs are accessible, but are involved enough to be appreciated on a slightly higher level. There is nothing overly phenomenal to be found on "...And Then There Were Two", however, so it only gets a moderate recommendation.

Categorical Rating Breakdown

Musicianship: 7.5
Atmosphere: 7
Production: 7
Originality: 6.5
Overall: 7

Rating: 7 out of 10

Review by Adam M on January 23, 2011.

This EP is good old-fashioned Hard Rock that has a good deal of vitality and passion associated with it. The songs are structured around the guitar riffs, which are meaty and catchy simultaneously. There isn’t really a lot of playing time devoted to the three songs here, so Ape must do their best to make the tunes stand out. They manage to do so reasonably well on "...And Then There Were Two".

There is Groove to be found and some small changes of tempo that keeps the listeners interest held up. However, the amount of variety is limited and the band doesn’t have the greatest amount of room to give each track its own distinctive flair. 'Sell Out' was a very good closing track and perhaps the most interesting of what was to be found on the EP as a whole. Despite the slight lack of flair, the band will appeal to both Rock and Metal fans because it straddles the two genres without ever becoming overly involved in either. Comparisons can be made to outfits like the grunge band Alice In Chains, but even then there’s a more metallic nature to be found here than what that group delivers.

The EP is solid, though unspectacular and leaves the listener wanting a greater taste of what Ape can fully achieve. There is still some enjoyment to be had here. Ape is a good Hard Rock or Metal outfit that shows the ability to perform songs that have a strong rhythm. The songs are accessible, but are involved enough to be appreciated on a slightly higher level. There is nothing overly phenomenal to be found on "...And Then There Were Two", however, so it only gets a moderate recommendation.

Categorical Rating Breakdown

Musicianship: 7.5
Atmosphere: 7
Production: 7
Originality: 6.5
Overall: 7

Rating: 7 out of 10

Review by Adam M on January 23, 2011.

This EP is good old-fashioned Hard Rock that has a good deal of vitality and passion associated with it. The songs are structured around the guitar riffs, which are meaty and catchy simultaneously. There isn’t really a lot of playing time devoted to the three songs here, so Ape must do their best to make the tunes stand out. They manage to do so reasonably well on "...And Then There Were Two".

There is Groove to be found and some small changes of tempo that keeps the listeners interest held up. However, the amount of variety is limited and the band doesn’t have the greatest amount of room to give each track its own distinctive flair. 'Sell Out' was a very good closing track and perhaps the most interesting of what was to be found on the EP as a whole. Despite the slight lack of flair, the band will appeal to both Rock and Metal fans because it straddles the two genres without ever becoming overly involved in either. Comparisons can be made to outfits like the grunge band Alice In Chains, but even then there’s a more metallic nature to be found here than what that group delivers.

The EP is solid, though unspectacular and leaves the listener wanting a greater taste of what Ape can fully achieve. There is still some enjoyment to be had here. Ape is a good Hard Rock or Metal outfit that shows the ability to perform songs that have a strong rhythm. The songs are accessible, but are involved enough to be appreciated on a slightly higher level. There is nothing overly phenomenal to be found on "...And Then There Were Two", however, so it only gets a moderate recommendation.

Categorical Rating Breakdown

Musicianship: 7.5
Atmosphere: 7
Production: 7
Originality: 6.5
Overall: 7

Rating: 7 out of 10

Review by Adam M on January 23, 2011.

This EP is good old-fashioned Hard Rock that has a good deal of vitality and passion associated with it. The songs are structured around the guitar riffs, which are meaty and catchy simultaneously. There isn’t really a lot of playing time devoted to the three songs here, so Ape must do their best to make the tunes stand out. They manage to do so reasonably well on "...And Then There Were Two".

There is Groove to be found and some small changes of tempo that keeps the listeners interest held up. However, the amount of variety is limited and the band doesn’t have the greatest amount of room to give each track its own distinctive flair. 'Sell Out' was a very good closing track and perhaps the most interesting of what was to be found on the EP as a whole. Despite the slight lack of flair, the band will appeal to both Rock and Metal fans because it straddles the two genres without ever becoming overly involved in either. Comparisons can be made to outfits like the grunge band Alice In Chains, but even then there’s a more metallic nature to be found here than what that group delivers.

The EP is solid, though unspectacular and leaves the listener wanting a greater taste of what Ape can fully achieve. There is still some enjoyment to be had here. Ape is a good Hard Rock or Metal outfit that shows the ability to perform songs that have a strong rhythm. The songs are accessible, but are involved enough to be appreciated on a slightly higher level. There is nothing overly phenomenal to be found on "...And Then There Were Two", however, so it only gets a moderate recommendation.

Categorical Rating Breakdown

Musicianship: 7.5
Atmosphere: 7
Production: 7
Originality: 6.5
Overall: 7

Rating: 7 out of 10

Review by Adam M on July 21, 2016.

Witherscape performs some nice melodic metal that has an epic flavour to it. There is a grandness to the songs that is very similar to what was present on Edge of Sanity’s Crimson albums. In fact, I believe that Witherscape is the modern answer to those albums.

The songs on here glimmer with a melodic sheen that is absolutely beautiful to behold. The overall effect they have is a larger than life presence that is absolutely effective. The differences between this album and the last one are minor, but there are enough of them to warrant this additional album. This simply seems like a more refined version of the last album. The songs are more driven by the mid-paced melodic approach of the band. They just seem to breathe better than the last time around. The epic flair adds to this further refinement meaning the band has a lot of firepower this time around. The tracks merge more seamlessly to create a whole than they did the last time around. I still don’t have a track I like as much as Dead for a Day, but the album as a whole seems to flow better than it did before. Thus one has to look at the album as a whole and investigate how these tracks come together to form it. This approach likens to the classic Crimson albums again, which were just one song. The grandiose feeling adds to the feeling of a complete album. This is truly some spectacular melodies to witness on this album and the variation between loud and soft moments is again appropriate to create the proper mood.

The Northern Sanctuary is an album to check out if you want some music that creates a vast emotional landscape and has solid song-writing to back it up. This music actually works well as the soundtrack to the Castlevania videogame series.

Rating: 8.5 out of 10

Review by Adam M on January 23, 2011.

This EP is good old-fashioned Hard Rock that has a good deal of vitality and passion associated with it. The songs are structured around the guitar riffs, which are meaty and catchy simultaneously. There isn’t really a lot of playing time devoted to the three songs here, so Ape must do their best to make the tunes stand out. They manage to do so reasonably well on "...And Then There Were Two".

There is Groove to be found and some small changes of tempo that keeps the listeners interest held up. However, the amount of variety is limited and the band doesn’t have the greatest amount of room to give each track its own distinctive flair. 'Sell Out' was a very good closing track and perhaps the most interesting of what was to be found on the EP as a whole. Despite the slight lack of flair, the band will appeal to both Rock and Metal fans because it straddles the two genres without ever becoming overly involved in either. Comparisons can be made to outfits like the grunge band Alice In Chains, but even then there’s a more metallic nature to be found here than what that group delivers.

The EP is solid, though unspectacular and leaves the listener wanting a greater taste of what Ape can fully achieve. There is still some enjoyment to be had here. Ape is a good Hard Rock or Metal outfit that shows the ability to perform songs that have a strong rhythm. The songs are accessible, but are involved enough to be appreciated on a slightly higher level. There is nothing overly phenomenal to be found on "...And Then There Were Two", however, so it only gets a moderate recommendation.

Categorical Rating Breakdown

Musicianship: 7.5
Atmosphere: 7
Production: 7
Originality: 6.5
Overall: 7

Rating: 7 out of 10