The latest offering to the hard rock gods from Murfreesboro’s Evil Bebos could not exactly be considered “ear-friendly” as mainstream radio would define it. The songs meander and cycle around themes for eight, or even 13, minutes. Overall, vocals are somewhat sparse, and when they do occur are a heavy metal-like growl. “A wash of noise” could describe more sections than “a melody you want to sing or hum with.” Not that any of these observations are bad things, getting lost in the spacey instrumental passages are the best thing about the work, the heaviness reflects the artists’ emotion and passion and “Cronus,” its longest track, may be its best.
The music, while loud and distorted, can neither be confined to the metal genre, popularly speaking. It’s more defined by gradually evolving jams than the blistering solos, abrupt changes and flashiness that typically define metal. The beauty in The Dead Language is found in the subtleties, the slow evolution of the compositions: a slight change in the drum part from measure to measure, or a sustained, heavily effected note from a guitar.
The record, which draws heavily from Greek mythology, opens with “From Caves Mouth,” which waits only four spacy, effected notes to delve into some extreme growling vocals. This could actually scare off some listeners more interested in the more phsychedelic, lengthy instrumental passages than the screaming, but the record certainly starts out with a bang.
Sharing some members with Ascent of Everest, the common personel shows. Both groups bring a refreshing artistic honesty to the table?a collection of musicians aiming for an overall effect that truly captures the listener, not individual virtuosity.
Listening to a song on The Dead Language is like walking down the wooded trail in the “Lord of the Rings” movie, you know, the one that moves and breathes as the spooky looking trees hang overhead. It’s a long, dark and intense journey, you’re not quite sure where it’s going, but it appears so trippy and intriguing you can’t resist exploring and focusing on it with all of your attention.
It’s a lot of crunch, a lot of noise, a lot of evil.
Evil Bebos will hold a CD release event Thursday, April 17, at the Walnut House.
