Engraved
Five piece Engraved from Turriff, Scotland recently got in touch about their music to see what we could do for them. Much like Ireland, I’ve never really had Scotland down as a place where a lot of much would come from, but I think that’s just my sheltered mind speaking! Moving back to the point though, I checked out their playlist on YouTube to see what they had on offer from their album ‘Overthrow the Pharaoh’.
Opening with Eternal, you’re immediately thrown into a mix of roaring guitars, pounding drums and raw vocals – there’s a real old skool sound to the music yet somehow it also manages to sound fresh and new. Almost catchy at times, this track is one which you have to play loud – it’ll shake the floor boards of your house, bring the dust down from the ceiling and have you head banging like a lunatic from the second it begins. Throughout the track, the soaring riffs power the track using the drums as their mark to set the pace whilst the vocals rove around from soaring heights of melody in the chorus to more roaring sections, great stuff! Throwing in a guitar solo over some rolling drums to make sure you’re still there and still listening, this is pure heavy metal in it’s purest sense, and it’s good to hear!
Black Wolves Howl follows on, opening with howling wolves before moving into a funk laden section of guitars over a solid drum beat, this is music to get you moving! As the vocals kick in to lead the track onwards, the funky beat continues, driven by the guitars and bass over the drums. Kicking into more rolling sections during the chorus of the track, there’s some real contrasts in the music here which keeps it alive and interesting. By the time the track reaches the end, you too will be chanting along with ‘Black Wolves Howl’ – also look out for the darker section midway through the track! As the track comes to a close though and Yakamoz comes into being, everything slows down and chills out. Acoustic guitar lines take over and lead the way over a soothing wave sound, almost sounding like it’s building up to something. As the vocals fade into the track, an almost Type O Negative sound is achieved through them, they’re clean yet somehow haunting. Opting to kick back into the heavier side of things, the track soon picks up pace and powers onwards, the riffs once again coming back into lead the way forward. The dark contrasts created here between the acoustic approach and heavier side of things create a track which works on different levels I think, there’s a lot here yet it all works well to create this darkened mash up of musical influences which the band have somehow crafted into their own sound. Closing softly as it began, the haunting nature of this track will stay with you for some time after it finishes, this is a track which you’ll revisit again and again.
Lazarus opens with the same approach on the guitars, sounding very Iron Maiden-esque as it begins, almost suggesting that it’s fading into something to come. The vocals once again opens soft and soothing, matching the guitar and bass lines. What you don’t notice here on first listen is that at first, there’s no drums on the opening of this track, they’re not needed as the instruments all work together so well. As the drums come into being though, the track takes true form and what it was building into is shown. Kicking into a rolling section of pounding drums, old skool vocals and riffing guitars, this track is testament to the bands influences yet once again something the band can call their own, it’s a mixture of old and new which works! The Crusader once again shows of the influences of the bands, opening with soft bass under a distorted lead line, the harmony created once again builds into the tracks proper opening. Kicking into a funky riff underpinned by a solid drum beat, this is another track which will get you head banging no matter where you’re hearing the music. Once again harking back to the origins of metal, this track is almost anthemic in its sound, one which I imagine is awesome on the live scene!
Title track Overthrow the Pharaoh follows on, opening much faster than the tracks which have come before it but still keeping all of the power which has become the signature of the bands sound. What’s really striking about the sound on this track is how the guitars and bass stick to a relatively simple line yet create another massive sound, it’s something pretty epic to achieve. Kicking into an almost catchy chorus section, you can see why this is the title track of the album, it’s like the bands coming of age almost, mixing all of the tracks which have come before it into a mash up of epic proportions. Faithless Prayer by contrast once again slows everything down, opening acoustic and bass heavy creating a haunting sound which pulls you in, calms you down and makes sure you’re listening to every single word. Once again launching from the acoustic approach into a heavier section of riffing guitars, before reverting back, this track is a little confused for me. The acoustic works, and the distorted works, but I’m not convinced that here the two work together, maybe it’s something which I just don’t get on this one, but there. Personally, on this track I’d liked to have seen it either 100% clean or 100% distorted – but onwards!
The Forgotten Dream seems to answer my request, opening distorted but melodic over a pounding drum line before bringing in a soaring lead line on the guitars – this is the sort of thing I’ve come to expect from these guys. Launching head first into a faster paced section, the track sets the pace high and once again resumes normal business. Fast and pacey throughout, this is a track which I imagine works on the live scene as well, certainly one to check out! March of the Sorrowed is another calmed down version of the tracks, opening bass heavy and bringing in different levels of lead lines before kicking into an almost thrashy section over rolling drums and pounding guitar riffs, this track seems to show the more refined edge of the band. Once again almost galloping through the track, the guitars and drums really set the pace for the vocals to follow and what you’re faced with is a track worthy of being played on pretty much any festival stage I can think of!
Final track Flow Of The Crimson Tide finishes off the selection from the band, opening dark and bassy before fading in the drums and kicking into an almost Avenged Sevenfold broken down intro, this track seems to suggest that the band is going to finish here, but isn’t done! Powerful, melodic and once again anthemic throughout, this track ends the selection perfectly and leaves anyone who listens to it wanting more!
Engraved are one of those bands whose sound is effectively timeless, it’s proper metal and it’s done well. The recordings aren’t overly produced so the sound captured is raw and edgy, suggesting to those who listen to it that this is what you would get if you were to go and see them on the live scene. I’ve been pleasantly surprised by the music and based on this, hope to hear much much more from these guys!
To find out more about Engraved, check out their Facebook page HERE.
Opening with Eternal, you’re immediately thrown into a mix of roaring guitars, pounding drums and raw vocals – there’s a real old skool sound to the music yet somehow it also manages to sound fresh and new. Almost catchy at times, this track is one which you have to play loud – it’ll shake the floor boards of your house, bring the dust down from the ceiling and have you head banging like a lunatic from the second it begins. Throughout the track, the soaring riffs power the track using the drums as their mark to set the pace whilst the vocals rove around from soaring heights of melody in the chorus to more roaring sections, great stuff! Throwing in a guitar solo over some rolling drums to make sure you’re still there and still listening, this is pure heavy metal in it’s purest sense, and it’s good to hear!
Black Wolves Howl follows on, opening with howling wolves before moving into a funk laden section of guitars over a solid drum beat, this is music to get you moving! As the vocals kick in to lead the track onwards, the funky beat continues, driven by the guitars and bass over the drums. Kicking into more rolling sections during the chorus of the track, there’s some real contrasts in the music here which keeps it alive and interesting. By the time the track reaches the end, you too will be chanting along with ‘Black Wolves Howl’ – also look out for the darker section midway through the track! As the track comes to a close though and Yakamoz comes into being, everything slows down and chills out. Acoustic guitar lines take over and lead the way over a soothing wave sound, almost sounding like it’s building up to something. As the vocals fade into the track, an almost Type O Negative sound is achieved through them, they’re clean yet somehow haunting. Opting to kick back into the heavier side of things, the track soon picks up pace and powers onwards, the riffs once again coming back into lead the way forward. The dark contrasts created here between the acoustic approach and heavier side of things create a track which works on different levels I think, there’s a lot here yet it all works well to create this darkened mash up of musical influences which the band have somehow crafted into their own sound. Closing softly as it began, the haunting nature of this track will stay with you for some time after it finishes, this is a track which you’ll revisit again and again.
Lazarus opens with the same approach on the guitars, sounding very Iron Maiden-esque as it begins, almost suggesting that it’s fading into something to come. The vocals once again opens soft and soothing, matching the guitar and bass lines. What you don’t notice here on first listen is that at first, there’s no drums on the opening of this track, they’re not needed as the instruments all work together so well. As the drums come into being though, the track takes true form and what it was building into is shown. Kicking into a rolling section of pounding drums, old skool vocals and riffing guitars, this track is testament to the bands influences yet once again something the band can call their own, it’s a mixture of old and new which works! The Crusader once again shows of the influences of the bands, opening with soft bass under a distorted lead line, the harmony created once again builds into the tracks proper opening. Kicking into a funky riff underpinned by a solid drum beat, this is another track which will get you head banging no matter where you’re hearing the music. Once again harking back to the origins of metal, this track is almost anthemic in its sound, one which I imagine is awesome on the live scene!
Title track Overthrow the Pharaoh follows on, opening much faster than the tracks which have come before it but still keeping all of the power which has become the signature of the bands sound. What’s really striking about the sound on this track is how the guitars and bass stick to a relatively simple line yet create another massive sound, it’s something pretty epic to achieve. Kicking into an almost catchy chorus section, you can see why this is the title track of the album, it’s like the bands coming of age almost, mixing all of the tracks which have come before it into a mash up of epic proportions. Faithless Prayer by contrast once again slows everything down, opening acoustic and bass heavy creating a haunting sound which pulls you in, calms you down and makes sure you’re listening to every single word. Once again launching from the acoustic approach into a heavier section of riffing guitars, before reverting back, this track is a little confused for me. The acoustic works, and the distorted works, but I’m not convinced that here the two work together, maybe it’s something which I just don’t get on this one, but there. Personally, on this track I’d liked to have seen it either 100% clean or 100% distorted – but onwards!
The Forgotten Dream seems to answer my request, opening distorted but melodic over a pounding drum line before bringing in a soaring lead line on the guitars – this is the sort of thing I’ve come to expect from these guys. Launching head first into a faster paced section, the track sets the pace high and once again resumes normal business. Fast and pacey throughout, this is a track which I imagine works on the live scene as well, certainly one to check out! March of the Sorrowed is another calmed down version of the tracks, opening bass heavy and bringing in different levels of lead lines before kicking into an almost thrashy section over rolling drums and pounding guitar riffs, this track seems to show the more refined edge of the band. Once again almost galloping through the track, the guitars and drums really set the pace for the vocals to follow and what you’re faced with is a track worthy of being played on pretty much any festival stage I can think of!
Final track Flow Of The Crimson Tide finishes off the selection from the band, opening dark and bassy before fading in the drums and kicking into an almost Avenged Sevenfold broken down intro, this track seems to suggest that the band is going to finish here, but isn’t done! Powerful, melodic and once again anthemic throughout, this track ends the selection perfectly and leaves anyone who listens to it wanting more!
Engraved are one of those bands whose sound is effectively timeless, it’s proper metal and it’s done well. The recordings aren’t overly produced so the sound captured is raw and edgy, suggesting to those who listen to it that this is what you would get if you were to go and see them on the live scene. I’ve been pleasantly surprised by the music and based on this, hope to hear much much more from these guys!
To find out more about Engraved, check out their Facebook page HERE.