THE DEAD SEE “Through The Veil”
I don’t know about you but when I think of Lubbock, Texas the only thing that comes to my mind is Bobby Knight. While the Hall Of Fame basketball coach is known for his aggressive demeanor, something tells me the dudes in THE DEAD SEE would not only be able to take a chair shot from Mr. Knight, they’d also be more than capable of throwing one back, or so their music would indicate. Through The Veil, the Lubbock-based quartet’s debut for Pluto Records, finds the band playing sludgy metal in the vein of NEUROSIS, although I hear traces of MASTODON’s progressive metal from time to time. Aside from the occasional horror film sound clip, the album tears its way through ten tracks in about forty-minutes. From the aforementioned MASTODON-esque riffing in “Memento Mori” to the haunting nature of “Cronos” to the surprisingly catchy chanting moments in “Sons Of Silence,” THE DEAD SEE has a lot of different techniques to offer; however, it is the despondent aura of the band’s songs that ultimately entrench them in the sludgy, brooding category of metal. Although it’s not quite as exciting as a basketball game, Through The Veil is surely an enjoyable release…if you need to exercise your demons.
Pluto
