LAST REMAINS - "Grasp For Existance" demo

[DaN]

They were mentioned in this thread so I thought it would be a good idea to upload this great demo (since I still haven't found my DRAKAR cdr )
This was ripped from my original tape so the sound should be the best possible.

http://www.megaupload.com/?d=XDR41CO1

Anyone have this demo for upload?


EDIT: I forgot to mention that I put a password on the zip file - www.thecorroseum.com

[Junkyard Barbarian]

eh, that's good stuff!
pretty fucking original metal we have here... really different and yet still damn cool!
sounds at times like Candlemass or Fates Warning and sometimes like Slayer... pretty cool!

[Noisenik]

hurray! Have successfully dowloaded this gem. The only prob that don't know where in my comp exactly - it's me anyhow . Again megathanks to Mr. DaN.


Edit: File found but with really strange (re)name (probably courtesy of my computer).

[DaN]

Still waiting for Helm's comment on this one. Should be right up his mother...

[Helm]

I AM SUMMONED

Express Review has pulled in station now. Let they who hath tickets board!


I've listened to this lots since I got it but I have troubles following music when I don't have lyrics to go with it usually, therefore I couldn't comment fairly. It seems a bit... aimless to talk about song constructs and riffs without knowing what the hell the band is going on about. Generally this is a demo and aesthetics are very rarely a prime consideration for bands at this point.

Musicianship is considerably tight without overdoing anything, good, middle range emotive singer with the more 'urgent' falsetto screaming where it's needed. The slower the go the more interesting their riffs. Speed aside, this is somewhat 'archetypical US power' for me, not technothrash. I will explain why below.

Usually the songs have breaks in the middle or end where the band bust out chops and tempo variations (the song-construction otherwise is quite tame), in ye olde grande Apparition tradition. Generally this is seems closer to power-proto-prog (like the aforementioned Fates Warning circa 5 years before this was recorded). The technothrash connection is there, perhaps, it depends on what sort of aesthetic this band was going for, from that point and onwards. If anything some chord choices seem similar to what Piggy was doing in Nothingface. But they seem to be very discrete about their weirdness.

I think I enjoy 'All of Us the Free' most from the demo, because it's the song that's the most adventurous in terms of tempo and riff modulation. Ripping solo as well. I wish I knew what this band was talking about. They seem a bit like... if only they took things a few steps further on (without becoming ponytail-metal) they'd be much more distinctive.

Interestingly when this band slows it down their riffs start to become more powerful. It'd be interesting if they didn't play Heavy Metal when slow (because they do) but instead tried to take their urgent technical metal stylings to the slow stuff too, perhaps like Confessor to a degree. Not a lot of bands 'break their riffs' when they play slow, and that's a shame. The Born Again track has a single slow-broken riff though so I guess I shouldn't complain too much! Good chorus too!

I get the feeling this band is not trying to play anything weird per se, it just comes out a bit... advanced because the players are good. This is a good giveaway of 'flashy metal' instead of anything purposefully convoluted like my beloved technothrash. This is why I say this is closer to power/proto-prog. The singer probably thought he was singing for a normal 'rowdy metal' band the whole time. Seriously, he thought he was in Vicious Rumours or something. The guitarists might have disagreed occasionally, but everybody tries to be discreet about the chromatic runs and synchopated rythms when they happen, they're not too proud! This hurts it, it doesn't revel in its weirdness and if there's one thing I love in weird metal, is that it knows what it is and it loves it! Otherwise it's just an overcompetent power metal band that will probably pull their hair back after they leave the demo stage and put out ponytail-metal on Magna Carta.

On the whole, promising but not essential.

[DaN]

I AM SUMMONED

Express Review has pulled in station now. Let they who hath tickets board!


I've listened to this lots since I got it but I have troubles following music when I don't have lyrics to go with it usually, therefore I couldn't comment fairly. It seems a bit... aimless to talk about song constructs and riffs without knowing what the hell the band is going on about. Generally this is a demo and aesthetics are very rarely a prime consideration for bands at this point.

Musicianship is considerably tight without overdoing anything, good, middle range emotive singer with the more 'urgent' falsetto screaming where it's needed. The slower the go the more interesting their riffs. Speed aside, this is somewhat 'archetypical US power' for me, not technothrash. I will explain why below.

Usually the songs have breaks in the middle or end where the band bust out chops and tempo variations (the song-construction otherwise is quite tame), in ye olde grande Apparition tradition. Generally this is seems closer to power-proto-prog (like the aforementioned Fates Warning circa 5 years before this was recorded). The technothrash connection is there, perhaps, it depends on what sort of aesthetic this band was going for, from that point and onwards. If anything some chord choices seem similar to what Piggy was doing in Nothingface. But they seem to be very discrete about their weirdness.

I think I enjoy 'All of Us the Free' most from the demo, because it's the song that's the most adventurous in terms of tempo and riff modulation. Ripping solo as well. I wish I knew what this band was talking about. They seem a bit like... if only they took things a few steps further on (without becoming ponytail-metal) they'd be much more distinctive.

Interestingly when this band slows it down their riffs start to become more powerful. It'd be interesting if they didn't play Heavy Metal when slow (because they do) but instead tried to take their urgent technical metal stylings to the slow stuff too, perhaps like Confessor to a degree. Not a lot of bands 'break their riffs' when they play slow, and that's a shame. The Born Again track has a single slow-broken riff though so I guess I shouldn't complain too much! Good chorus too!

I get the feeling this band is not trying to play anything weird per se, it just comes out a bit... advanced because the players are good. This is a good giveaway of 'flashy metal' instead of anything purposefully convoluted like my beloved technothrash. This is why I say this is closer to power/proto-prog. The singer probably thought he was singing for a normal 'rowdy metal' band the whole time. Seriously, he thought he was in Vicious Rumours or something. The guitarists might have disagreed occasionally, but everybody tries to be discreet about the chromatic runs and synchopated rythms when they happen, they're not too proud! This hurts it, it doesn't revel in its weirdness and if there's one thing I love in weird metal, is that it knows what it is and it loves it! Otherwise it's just an overcompetent power metal band that will probably pull their hair back after they leave the demo stage and put out ponytail-metal on Magna Carta.

On the whole, promising but not essential.

Did you write that in just one minute?
Sorry - drunk - will also read now - or soon..

[Helm]

I wrote it in the duration it took me to give the demo another patient listen. It would have taken another listen if I had to read lyrics at the same time too, but sadly...

[DaN]

I just might have a scan of the lyrics somewhere.. I'm pretty sure they where printed on the demo sleeve.. (now sold I'm afraid)

[Helm]

I don't think it's worth the scan, most my ears caught seemed quite stereotypical. Seems the singer is singing for Vicious Rumours in his head...

[Noisenik]

After 2nd listen:

To my ears the overall sound is pretty thrash of the early 90's era + i'm reminded of 1st Toxik and, well I wouldn't say Candlemass, but rather ... Hexenhaus (related anyway). I also heard a riff quite similar to sth from Dreamweaver and also a riff similar to sth from Master Of Puppets. Have to agree that VoiVod riffs are somewhat hidden (at the end of "Gates" and "Back From Hell") which is a shame. Funny that bands at that time didn't want to veer too much in the direction of ubermighty Canadians. and yeah, I dare to say that guys in LR actually listened to Spectral Incursion.
All the references mentioned, however, are regarded high in my book. Unfortunately it is 15 years since the demo was released, but it was really promising when put out.

[Helm]

Where do you hear Spectral Incursion in this? I think it's just the Voivod degree of separation really.

[Noisenik]

At about 3:05 into "Gates" (after singer sez ... Dance Of Death) there's a delivery of a riff quite similar too a riff that starts at about 1:50 into "Rails" and repeats at about 3:07. The arrangement is pretty close there.

Now listening to it for the 3rd time. It gets better and better. More influences are starting to pop in my mind, though.

Probably more SI will protrude after more listens (another similarity around 4:00 of All of us the free ...) Though they may be genre-shared similarities.

[ATHEIST]

thanks