This little EP is downright legendary in the doom/death world. A tiny French band named Garden of Silence recorded a two-song EP and broke up soon thereafter. A decade later, the denizens of the internet dug up this album, realized what they had been missing, and pretty soon everyone was clamoring for a copy. Seeing this, I went out and... didn't buy a copy because I can't afford to buy physical music. So I downloaded it for free instead. Oh don't you look at me like that! Half of you are probably illegally downloading music right now!
First of all, I love the short acoustic guitar/violin intro. It's a real nice touch. Of course, you have your typical mid-paced to slow doomy riffs, but they also implement mid-paced rhythmic sections and noodling solos that sound reminiscent of the big names of thrash metal. The riffs during these sections are pretty catchy and the doom/death distortion gives them a nice crunch. There are also these tremolo riffs that sound like they were pulled straight from black metal. This is quite surprising given that black metal was in its youth back then.
The clean vocals sound a bit iffy. They do this whole warbling thing and there are parts where his voice cracks. The screams also have this cracking problem. However, the growls more than make up for it. The drums are well-performed, dispensing a great deal of impressive blasts and fills, although they have their production problems, such as the double bass sounding like more of a soft tapping. Overall, this is awfully short for a doom/death release, but this shortness ensures that the music is concise and to-the-point.
This little EP was truly ahead of its time. It's no wonder the internet loves it so much. And so, being a pompous, elitist metal reviewer who owns a blog that no one reads yet still has delusions of importance, I will also pledge my allegiance to Garden of Silence. It's a fantastic obscure treasure, and you should obtain it by any means necessary.
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