And now, for something completely different… It's that time again! Grim Kim has returned from the frozen South of Georgia (seriously dudes, it's called rock salt; use it next time) to prattle on about massive riffs, Satanic nonsense, and to blow your mind with another one of the best bands you've never heard of. This time around, we'll be speeding things up a tad and heading North of the swampy bayous where my tastes tend to lie, to the City of Brotherly Love itself – Killadelphia, where the music is ugly, the people are uglier, and the threat of the Grim Reaper becomes all too real should you walk too far down Girard Ave at night.
Those who have read my other posts may be surprised to hear that this week's band isn't vicious black metal, and they sure ain't sludge – hell, they're not even doom. This band is something entirely different, and entirely their own.
This edition of Revelations of Doom is proof that even the blackest heart needs to let in a little light from time to time. After all, life can't be all d-beats and dirges! Don't get me wrong; about 98% of my life is, but even I find time for a little melody now and again, and Pennsylvania's The Green Evening Requiem are just what the witchdoctor ordered. Their music is viciously refined; it's obvious that the band have slaved over every note and every word of their songs in search of elusive perfection.
Masterfully weaving together the best of black, death, doom, thrash, and progressive metal with dark melodic rock and graceful folk influences, The Green Evening Requiem transcend every musical boundary they can think of and forge ahead into virgin territory. They have a delightful tendency to ignore metal's strict genre rules and stray into uncharted waters, dabbling in psychedelia and 70's prog as often as they crank up the black metal bombast. Think Morningrise-era Opeth or The Mantle's Agalloch jamming with present-day Enslaved, and you're getting close.
After many years and plenty of obstacles, The Green Evening Requiem finally have a rock-solid lineup (featuring Woods of Ypres drummer Evan Madden and members of black metal iconoclasts Woe) and a brand-new full-length due out soon. They've played with the likes of Amorphis, Dark Funeral, Samael, Green Carnation, Virgin Black, and Novembre, and had their self-titled first demo released by David Gold (Woods of Ypres)'s Krakenhaus Records in Canada and worldwide, and distributed by The End Records in the US. Clearly, these dudes are not fucking around. They are a force to be reckoned with, and all those who love all that is dark, expressive, heavy, and heartfelt are sure to agree.
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