Imperiumi

***½ (3½/5)

review by: Antti Korpinen
review date: 12.5.2007

DEPTH BEYOND ONE'S
Ebb
CD-R

Playing skills, sudden, manifold riffs and diverse vocal parts determines Oulu's Depth Beyond One's' second demo "Ebb". For those who need stylistical guidelines one could mention bands like Ephel Duath and Pain Of Salvation. Second track Wept Thoughts develops strongly in vein of Pain Of Salvation and even Antti Karhu's singing has the crybaby-like tone of Daniel Gildenlöw - this time in a good sense. The song builds up slowly and doesn't fall at all into unnecessary wanking like the other songs. A Human Decay is maybe the most eloquent song on the record and it reminds me, besides Ephel Duath, Mike Patton's different outputs.

Depth Beyond One's brings lively to my mind the musical thinking from 3-4 years ago that I had: originality was a virtue itself and song structure was the worst curse word. Afterwards you think what the hell was in Spastic Ink or in Ephel Duath that attracted purely in musical ways. In the end, the most rewarding stuff from those records were those parts whose creation the band didn't had to force - even if the level of originality had to suffer. In more straightfoward parts I would have hoped more precise vocal performance, singer's more clear articulation and some small productional spices. Economically used keyboards brings depth to the sound, f.ex. in A Human Decay's beginning the spirit is as defiant as in Opeth's The Baying Of The Hounds. That's why I'm convinced that when Depth Beyond One's forgets the useless performance-centricness, you can expect unique metal concoctions from them.

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