Secretpath - The Choice

Secretpath and their demo album "The Choice" is a fine example of how poor production can destroy potentially interesting music. These guys from Cosenza, Italy have come together in 2008 and by far "The Choice" is their first recording. They label themselves as a mix of black and melodic death metal, and that's exactly what you're going to hear on this record with probably the most off-putting quality of black metal – recording quality - being the very first thing you notice.

"The Choice" sounds like it was recorded in a garage or basement in just one take. And if this would be very atmospheric for monotonous and depressive black metal, then the attempts of creating melodies with such a sound look pretty silly. The guitar sounds like it was plugged directly into the computer without any amps in between, the bass creates a humming sound in the background that creates some density with the paper-like guitars, but in general you can't escape the feeling that these guys didn't bother much about creating a good sound. The drums sound exactly like you would hear them in a small rehearsal room. But what disappointed me the most were the vocals. The black-like grim screams sound like someone's mocking a black metal singer, and so do the clean vocals that resemble a drunk guy who's trying to sing in an epic way. That's just awful!

But what's really disappointing about this recording is that the music is potentially quite good. If you stop paying attention to the poor quality and production, you notice that there are some interesting riffs and the atmosphere the music creates could have been quite interesting if the poor recording wouldn't distract you every time you start enjoying the music. It escapes my mind why destroying own efforts in such a silly way, when all that is needed is some time in a good studio with a professional engineer. If the band reads this review, I urge you to re-record the album from scratch and not come out the studio until you get a good sound. Because such a recording doesn't do you any favor.

1. The Path
2. From The Woods Of Lilith
3. Nunc Sunt Flores
4. Still Darkness Of The Abyss
5. I've Chosen
Self released
Reviewer: twansibon
Dec 17, 2010

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