Review by Adam M on February 13, 2018.

Tristania performs gothic metal to the fullest extent. They are interesting in that apply multiple vocalists in both male and female types for their wares. The music here moves at a medium momentum and attempts to drip atmosphere into the tracks with the use of keyboards and more atmospheric elements. The effect is a pleasant one as the songs here certainly have an upbeat feeling that is very nice to listen to.

However, they are not as depressing as the likes of My Dying Bride and certainly sway towards a more positive spectrum of things. The emotion and passion of the band are felt, but there is even more emotion on display from some of the other acts in this genre such as Moonspell. A comparison to that band finds them being more varied, but less impactful overall. The compositions on this album are long and intricate enough. However, the music comes across as slightly simplistic sounding and this is a flaw with the work. The music is still very dense and exciting. The guitars form a nice swirling backdrop of emotional impact and they provide a nice blueprint for the material. The use of other strings and keyboards is nice and adds a layer of atmosphere to the mix.

This album provides a solid viewpoint for the gothic metal genre, though it isn’t perfect by any means. It still showcases the manners of adding sorrow and emotional outpourings to the music in fine fashion. One wishes the album would make the impact of My Dying Bride’s best material for example, but this is a notch below that output. Widow’s Weeds is still a very solid gothic metal album and worth a listen from anyone calling themselves a fan of the genre. May the atmosphere reign the day with Tristania.

Rating: 7.7 out of 10

Review by Arek on November 22, 2016.

Saddiscore is four metalheads out of Germany, and Demons Of The Earth is their debut album. To break into the music market they've used 10 tracks lasting almost 43 minutes, and cooperation of the small German stable - Boersma Records.

Band themselves describe their style as modern heavy metal and I think there’s something to it. Elements of groove, thrash, and even doom are very audible and that was the diversity that got me interested. Heavy metal supplied by Saddiscore is different, but not bizarre in its uniqueness. Unfortunately it’s very clear they’re just starting out on their musical journey. Simplicity becomes unbearably obvious sometimes. Singer has this warm-raspy and attracting timbre voice, but sometimes he is not able to control the leanings learned from the heavier metal genres. Sometimes he lacks this powerful heavy metal manner, especially in the higher parts. If however, he fully masters his instrument in the future he can be an asset of this quartet. For now, however, he’s average.

Demons Of The Earth is an album that bears the typical mark of a debut. It reminds me a little, though not musically, of Slayer's Show No Mercy. The potential of that album already killed, but skills of the band and recording team established the status of the disc. An undeniable advantage of Demons Of ... are interesting, varied compositions kept in gloomy tone generally not of heavy metal kind, highlighting the band from all the hordes of heavy - warriors. Some tracks (A Storm Is Coming, Mirror Face, Ghost Of Guilt, Demons Of The Earth, All In Our Hands) have this mysterious "something" that despite that certain tang of the debut, make you want to come back to them. It seems to me that, with more hours spent in the rehearsal room, Saddiscore virus can gain more power.

This mix of genders and generations has created a heavy metal variation, which may please, but it needs more time and work. They were able to create interesting albeit very simple compositions. They brought a breath of freshness, but not without flaws. We just have to wait for more still.

Rating: 6.5 out of 10

Review by JD on July 23, 2013.

I have always supported all Canadian Metal, and always will. It then pains me greatly if I find a band that I can’t throw my support behind, even though they fly the maple leaf proudly. The Orchid’s Curse is a band based in Nova Scotia and sadly is one of the few after they had put out a previous album that kicked ass, and then they did another one.

Playing a mixture of Melodic Death Metal, Groove and Metalcore, the band seems willing to go to extremes in the musical end of things– and I liked that on the last album I had reviewed from them ("Voices: Tales Of A Broken Man"). I liked so much that I gave them a 9.4. I wished for those days for them. The newer album seems to be a pale reflection of this band, even though there is some shading of brilliance there.

The last album was full of lyrical introspection and this air of wisdom that perfectly aligned itself with the powerful music that partnered with every syllable spat – this was more of what made The Orchid’s Curse so good. On "Words", it seemed like they try to keep that angle going, but they lost the mark somewhere. Musically crushing, the lyrics are sometimes muddled in its message, tending to lose its punch. They have a strong message, they dropped the ball here.

Still enjoying the strong music of The Orchid’s Curse, I see greatness still happening for them. The lyrics on the other hand, need something different. Not with the message they try to bring, just how it is delivered. Words are a strong way of getting your soul across to the masses, but if they come out confused – then you have a serious problem.

Categorical Rating Breakdown

Musicianship: 9
Atmosphere: 7
Production: 7.5
Originality: 8
Overall: 7.5

Rating: 7.8 out of 10