The Pakistani Metal scene has too many bands playing the same monotonous form of thrashy death metal. Every person who knows how to play a guitar decides to form a death metal band with some horrible barker on vocals. But Eleventh Hour wanted to be different. They wanted to play old school thrash metal inspired by bands like Testament and Megadeth. And they do it better than anyone else in Pakistan.
Lets start with the production of this album. Considering that this demo had been self funded and recorded, it is pretty good. I know the vocalist of the band personally, and when I talked to him about the production, he was full of praise for the producer, Mr. Nadir Michael. Its no surprise that he was full of praise, because for an independent and self financed release, the production is pretty clear, especially when compared to other Pakistani bands from the Punjab region, such as Orion and Dementia. Just by listening to the album, you know that the producer had worked hard to ensure that every instrument sounded perfect. The only problem with the production is that sometimes the vocals seem to be drowned in the barrage of riffs, and it kind of takes a bit of quality away from the songs. The drums at times suffer from the same fate as the vocals, but not always.
Since this demo has only 3 songs, I'm going to focus on the songs individually. The demo's opening track, 'Quarry – The Final Cut' begins with a short and mellow intro that leaves you unprepared for the relentless assault of riffs that is to follow. The lyrics of the song aren't anything special, just your typical metal song, but the music is downright excellent. The riffage SCREAMS of classic 80's thrash metal. In fact, the guitar work on this song is so downright awesome, by Pakistani standards, that every other person in the band seems to be taking a back seat to Zia's insane right hand guitar technique. Danish Kayani does an excellent job on the drums, his lines are pretty good. Despite him not being too highly rated in the Rawalpindi scene, he shows everyone that he is capable of much more than what he's made out to be in this song. The bass isn't as enjoyable as the song after 'Quarry', but Hassan Osman does his job well. So what about the lead guitarist, Ammar Tareen? I haven't said anything about him so far. Well, the fact is, I don't need to say anything, because the guy is a true gem! His solo in Quarry sounds like a Metallica meets Iron Maiden style solo, and I've never heard a more enjoyable solo from a Pakistani guitarist before. Its a real pity that he left 11th Hour after this demo, because the guy had a bright future with the band. Overall, 'Quarry', is a good song, not great, because the vocals really drag it down.
The headbanging frenzy that 'Quarry' gets you into leaves you completely unprepared for the next track, because unlike 'Quarry', 'The Season's End' is a slow and mellow ballad type song. But the song is not without energy or heavyness. The song is similar to Metallica's 'Fade to Black', with the song picking up the pace late on, while the early parts are slow with soft spoken vocals and completely stellar bass and guitar work! The song sounds like the type of song that would sound better live, because sequenced drums are hard to pull off in metal. The sound of the hi-hats sounds a bit annoying to say the least, and the song could have done well without them. Zia's vocals may be a cause of debate in this song. He's a bit like Dave Mustaine, some people say that Mustaine's vocal delivery is unique, while some say its unbearable. The same is the case with Zia. His soft spoken vocals in this song are as irritating as Mustaine was in say, 'A Tout Le Monde'. He makes it up with his guitar work again, though. The heavy and murky riffs coming up in the background in the main verse section is somewhat of a clicheBut the main highlight of the song, In my opinion, is the harmony outro! Just listening to it makes you forget everything bad about the song! Ammar and Zia's twin guitar outro was a perfect way to end the song. Overall, the second song of the demo is average, not good. I'm not a big fan of soft spoken vocals and slow ballad style songs, and if you don't like these types of songs, I suggest you skip this one.
'The Season's End' prepares you for another headbanging frenzy. The first two songs are mere appetizers compared to the true highlight of this album. For some reason, 'Lunging Snakes' has a better production compared to the first two songs, the vocals can finally be heard among the riff assault, and Zia truly shines on the vocals in this song. Kickass, and in your face vocal delivery. According to the band's Orkut page, the bass was recorded by Zia, and not Hassan, because of Hassan Usman's college commitments. It doesn't take anything away from this song, and the bass is as solid as ever. While the vocal problems seem to have been fixed in this song, the drumming problems still persist. Some odd fills would have gelled well with the song because of the tempo and riff changes. The riffage is amazing heads down thrash metal to the core as always, and the solos in between verses show a clear Megadeth and Exodus influence. The chorus part is a little melodic, but that only adds to the unpredictability of the song. At 2 minutes and 55 seconds, you should have your headbanging gear on, because the mosh pit like riffs and the solos that follow it remind me of Sodom's 'Agent Orange' (1989) album, and Exodus's 'Fabulous Disaster' (1989). And the way they end this song is awesome. Zia screaming with his voice echoing among the distorted guitar riffs. So, overall, the title track of this demo is the best from the song. Not the most original song, but they do old school thrash metal better than anyone in Pakistan.
Overall, good album. Not original, but enjoyable and full of energy. I honestly think that it would have been better if they replaced 'The Season's End' with 'The Rusted Chain', because 'The Rusted Chain' is similar to the other two songs in this demo- Fast, unrelenting, with a “take no prisoners” style attitude. And thats what this band does best. They spare no one with their music, especially live. 'Quarry' and 'Lunging Snakes' are full of energy and were made to play live. I'm giving this demo recording a 75%, but it would have gotten more if they had replaced 'The Season's End' with 'The Rusted Chain', and if the vocals on the first two songs were a bit clearer. If you like thrash metal and are interested in hearing something from Pakistan, I suggest you download this demo.
Reviewed by MegaHassan
11/01/2008 09:31
