| CD REVIEW A Last Day On Earth |
 |
Band : A Last Day On Earth Based in Leiria, Portugal (situated some 105 km North of Lisbon, near the coastline), this quintet could just as well have come from Southern California's Orange County, where the band's Progressive hybrid of Metal and Hardcore certainly wld open the way to big business opportunities! According to my info, all of the band's members (lead singer Valter Geraldes, guitarists Ruben Santos & José Couceiro, bassist Miguel Batista, and drummer Bruno Nunes) already had extensive previous band experiences (check Sunwebbs, Sereal, Mind Probes, Ad Noctum and Hypnotic Sessions) before hooking up back in 2005. What I haven't been able to find out is whether the guys recorded any other material previous to entering Ultrasound Studios in Braga (situated some 50 km North by North-North-West from Porto, and a round 200 km from the boys' hometown) owned by well-known producer/ multi-instrumentalist Daniel Cardoso (he has produced and/ or been session musician for a vast array of bands including SiriuS, Head Control System, Leafblade, Ava Inferi, Angelus Apatrida, Heavenwood, Vertigo Steps, W.A.K.O. and many more among which now also ALDOE, as well as playing live with Ramp, Anathema, and Re:aktor – the list goes on, but is too long to print here, check the guy's Wikipedia page) during April 2009. Both he and his assistant engineer Pedro Mendes have contributed to the album, the first by adding vocals to 4 songs, the second by adding a guitar solo to the song “The Unseen View”. Although the contribution of the instrumentalists certainly must not be underestimated, ALDOE's most powerful asset is without a doubt their lead singer! Going through several emotional states, his voice switches from guttural and semi-deep aggressive (but not enough to be likened to Death or Grind) to bitter-sweet and semi-cried modes (but not enough to deserve a diminishing in being called Emo-like), and in the info sheet we got along with our promo copy of the album (nah, nót a download this time around, because the people at Coprostill believe in giving the reviewers they work with something tangible to work with), he's even occasionally likened to Korn's Jonathan Davies. Personally, I felt there's moments where he's reminiscent of deftones' singer as well! Overall, the album is hard to describe, or even to compare with already better known acts...which is of course a “two thumbs up” to ALDOE! Best therefore, for each and everyone of you to make his/ her own assessment of the band's music, by checking out the songs (besides an album preview there's 4 full-length tracks off this album, and 4 more of a possible earlier release) posted at (www.) myspace.com/alastdayonearth! Darn, I'm having problems leaving this album behind me...and that's something which only happens to me when I'm really into something. Yeah, I sure haven't been able to give this album the amount of listening sessions it truly deserves...but then there's still so many more reviews I'd like to get done before the end of the year!!! So, although for the moment I'm giving this album a moderate rating, I reserve the right to possibly add it to my year-lists after all! 92/100 Tony. |