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Review: Invidia - Reflections of The Shattered Glass
Invidia
www.invidiatheband.com
Reflections of The Shattered Glass

Label: Independent
Year released: 2003
Duration: 23:39
Tracks: 5
Genre: Death/Thrash

Rating:
4.25/5


Review online: April 14, 2004
Reviewed by: 4th Horseman
Readers' Rating
How do you rate this release?

Rated 3/5 (60%) (2 Votes)
Review

My friends…The true spirit of old school thrash metal still prevails strong in the hearts and minds of many. For as long as there are bands like Invidia cranking out some of the most pulverizing and brutal forms of thrash metal out there, fans of the genre have little to worry about. Make no mistake about this… "Reflections of The Shattered Glass" is not old school in the vein of the Bay Area scene of the golden age; far from it actually. What we have here is more along the lines of the German counter-attack to the American thrash scene we saw in the 1980's.

Although not worshipping them, but 'The Unholy Triad of German Thrashers' (Kreator, Sodom & Destruction) show a strong influence here. And I mean early, early-Sodom and the peak of Destruction's career! That is saying a lot! And yes, there is quite a lot of death metal in here and some Black as well, along with melodic influences here and there.

There are two very interesting things about this band (aside from the music of course). Firstly, the band is a quintet consisting of a vocalist, a guitarist, a drummer and a full-time rhythm guitarist in addition to the bass player! So as you might have guessed, the rhythm team is quite dominant here. Secondly, this is a very, very young band; mostly late teenagers born in the mid-1980's! But the music hardly shows how young these guys are.

The CD starts off with the awesome title track which entirely consists of two rhythm guitars battling it out. This is an instrumental track for the freaks! Luckily, I love instrumentals. The thing that sets it above much of the rest is the fact that it is so eccentric and unlike anything I've heard before. Think about it…how much could you really do with two bass guitars and nothing else? Well listen to this track and think again. A bold move by the band, as I am sure not many will appreciate this unless they are into weird experimentations. It sets a nice exotic and evil feel to the album right off the start.

But wait…display of technical talent and originality is hardly the main course on this CD. "Rise of the Unborn" kicks in next and starts to show what these guys are made of. This one is more of a basic yet unforgiving thrash assault than anything else. Next up, it gets darker and more viscous with "Keeping The Faith", my favourite off the disc, which starts to transform more into a hybrid of thrash and death. The album gradually gets more and more extreme with their death and black metal stylings taking over so progressively, you don't even notice. Invidia are indeed very talented and their guitarists (bass & rhythm included) are just awesome. The drumming, I can't really say much, because it is fairly simple and mid-paced for the most part and does not get too technical. The grinding lead and groovy rhythm guitars just dominate this album. The guitar work in all its forms is truly the highlight of it.

One criticism I will make however. And this is pretty major as I just had to dock a few points off the rating for this; the vocals. The lead vocals are fine and maintain everything great about this disc. It is the background vocals that really take you out of it. There is someone shrieking in the background and it DOES NOT sound appealing at all! It is like a growling shriek, but very high pitched and whiny. To give some constructive criticism and in all honesty, it reminds me of the guy from Linkin Park when he thinks he is cool and starts to shriek. For some reason, I keep thinking of an ugly witch who is giving birth to an even uglier child when that type of screaming comes in. I really don't enjoy imagining such things! Hehe! I would have gotten rid of those background vocals if it were up to me; considering the fact that the rest of the music is more than strong enough to stand on its own without them. They are not bad enough to ruin the music, but without them, this demo would have gotten even closer to the perfect score. (Production is not the greatest, but is very good for an unsigned underground band). And plus, when the music is this fucking good, I couldn't care less about the production.

Breakdown:

Pure Head-banger Riffs – A

Solos for the solo enthusiast – A

Lead vocals – A

Supporting Vocals – D-

Creativity & Ballsiness – A

Drumming – B

Rhythm Guitars – A+

Overall, this is a spectacular debut from a very young band. This will definitely cater to the tastes of Death Metal fans as well as thrashers. Keep an eye on these New Yorkers…

More about Invidia...
Interview with Invidia on April 22, 2004 (Interviewed by 4th Horseman)
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