Self Made Man

Tracks:
1. The Copulator
2. Fear & Consumption
3. Deception & Repentance
4. Sedative Destruction
5. Testing Faith

Reviwed By
Andy Garibaldi
www.deadearnest.btinternet.co.uk

The brand new CD-EP sees 5 brand new and utterly awesome songs unleashed on an unsuspecting world, proof positive that this band are not only the kings of the Dundee black metal/hardcore scene, but have the potential to wipe out the opposition nationwide. Opening with 'The Copulator', the first thing that hits you is that the fact that you have a song on your hands - no indistinct or growled vocals - but a vocalist that's burning with anger and passion, on fire and roaring to destruction, as the lyrics are easily heard and even something resembling a hook, abounds as the song rages all around you, the band equally on fire as nuclear powered drums, disembowelling bass and a wall of guitars provides the towering soundtrack to this immense molten mass of metallic mayhem. But the arrangement possesses dynamics as well a power, here, quite uniquely, managing to do both at the same time, so that when the track "drops down", the finger is never taken off the power button. The song twists and turns but with the precision of an air strike, it hit its target with menacing ease, vocalist Norrie showcasing his range with ease as the lyrics are unleashed with controlled fury, on a song that simply roars into life.

Then, without a hint of a break, we're into the even more forceful 'Fear And Consumption', again the amazing range of the vocal providing the jaw-dropping focus of the song as the band rages and swirls in a mass of black metal riffing and a storm-force rhythmic powerhouse. The lyrics are simply stunning, the song so well arranged and constructed that even though this is raging metal at its hardcore finest, at no point do you feel overwhelmed by it, a mark that sets this band apart from all others.

To take you by complete surprise, 'Deception & Repentance' is an ethereal ballad with just chiming guitar, deep rumbling bass and the soaring vocals positively heart-warming, but revealing a lyrical imagery that retains the menace and pinpoint observations of what's gone before, but this time injected with yearning and wistfulness, on what is a song that not only shows the sheer quality that this band possesses, but one that sounds perfectly natural in the context of the metallic thunderstorm that rages either side of it, the musical eye of the hurricane, for sure, and every bit as welcoming.

'Sedative Destruction' regains the metal mastery with a track that, for the first time, reminds you of someone else, in this case, initially, early Sabbath/Ozzy, but less than a minute in, the band ups the anti and the song rises up before dropping down and back into classic Ozzy-esque territory, only a lot darker, as this mix of metal attack surges ahead to perfection. The song roars forward with massive energy as the guitars swirl, the rhythm section roars and the vocalist provides another impassioned performance.

Finally, 'Testing Faith' rages into life with a fast-paced musical warfare that really unleashes a set of lyrics to make you think as the song explodes with the brightness of 1000 suns, Norrie practically in your face with his vocals as the twisting, turning, intricate yet powerhouse instrumental arrangements create a huge, spiralling sandstorm of positively engulfing proportions, as vocal and band leave you spellbound amid a raging sea of black metal thunder with a song that really gets inside your head and makes you worship this band for the force and sheer uniqueness that it is.

Undoubtedly one of the finest bands on the planet right now in this genre, this is but a bang in the explosion that is this band live in concert.

THIS EP CAN BE BOUGHT AT THE BALCONY BAR WARD ROAD DUNDEE


SELF MADE MAN - EVOLUTION OF DESIGN E.P. (2006)