Whoa! Another band with a name taken from the writings of J.R.R. Tolkien. There are so many bands who've chosen to adopt their name from the legendary writer, that I cannot even count that far! In 2007, this Czech band rose from the ashes of Absurd Conflict (2003-2007), but are quite different in comparison. There is no more Death influence heard.

Edain play dark heavy metal. From the opening acoustic guitars of 'The Downward Spiral', the mood of the album is set: Edain's guys have listened their Opeth. When the distortion goes on, it's not that easy to pick up more of the influences anymore. The mood stays in the dark side, but still the music has evident groove in it. Dark heavy metal it is, then, with some steps toward more extreme styles. The gripping riffage and the lead guitar work steal the show, where as dry-ish throat stertor from the vocalist feels a tad powerless, if still characteristic. Some lines of clean vocals remind heavily of Root's Big Boss. By looking at the cover art, I was sure to hear some kind of modern In Flames derivative, but mercifully that was not the case. The scene of partly fractured world of future reminds of Blade Runner, and I was sure to get some bleeps and pings here. The Opeth influence raises its head later on, especially on the calmer and slower parts around the record. However, Edain never gets very fast. Hmm, let's add the word prog to that term "dark heavy metal". So, Edain are not futuristic, but old-fashioned in no fashionable way.

Together with the vocals, the drums also are too inaudible. The production is kind of roomy, and yes, unbalanced, but organic which is a definite pro. However, it is quite powerless, kind of missing the needful bite. The lyrics are about human mind, depicted with cyber-vocabulary, about societies and one piece with gothic touch (no, nothing in fantasy vein, I'm afraid!). And it's also a bit deeper than any typical metal lyricism, not so into-the-point.

Edain have character. They rise above the grey mass of today's metal music. There's no flashy stuff from a single member of the band, but as an unit they work very effectively. Even with its typical debut album defect, the demo-ish production, it can grab a listener with ease. The songs and their bits, together with the character of the band, simply burrow under one's skin. A definite must-try, if you want something a bit different and you want to find out a fine new band.

Rating: 7+ (out of 10) ratings explained

Reviewed by Lane
08/28/2009 19:25