Review: Claymorean “Sounds from a Dying World”

Claymorean “Sounds from a Dying World”
Stormspell records

This bands is one of veterans of Serbian Metal scene. It was born right June 28^th, 1994 under thew name CLAYMORE and founder was Vlad Invictus (Vladimir Garčević). But first nine years of existence was rather inconclusive – they released only a demo after 8 years since their birth and debut album ‘The First Dawn of Sorrow’ on year later. Then they split-up, but something’s wrong with this news, I think. I found information that several musicians played in the band till 2005. I didn’t use word ‘fruitless’ especially! I’m sure that band was creating some music, played some gigs. Reason of this was situation in country for sure, but also unserious approach to the matter or at least wishful thinking of some musicians, I afraid. There weren’t so extremely many changes in line-up in this first period of existence, so there’s no other explanation in my opinion.

Anyhow, the band was re-found in 2012 and since this time they record new stuffs every year, even if line-up changed much more often than in first period of existence. In view of this my thesis can be right, at least in some way. Before ‘Sounds from the Dying World’ we could enjoy two demos (entitled just “Demo 2014” and “Demo 2016”) and two full-lengths – ‘Lament of Victory’ (2013) and ‘Unbroken’ (2015). I didn’t hear these stuffs, but I suppose that musically we had to do with something similar like on the newest album. It contains eight songs which musicians call Epic Power Metal. Well, maybe they know it better, but I think there’re only fragments which can be connoted with this sub-genre of Metal. The truth is that in some songs they dominate. Anyways, I can hear influences of several musical styles and it’s not only about Metal. Well, honestly end effect sounds sometimes more Rock than Metal. Of course this is only my subjective opinion.

And it’s not because of music, by the way. Uroš (Kovačević) and Vladimir play melodically, but in the same time with necessary in music like that claw, power and right dose of heaviness. It’s of course also various what means several technical tricks, too. But there’s not so many of them, so we haven’t here to do with outgrowth of form over the content what happens to some bands playing (or in some cases: trying to play) Power Metal. However, some riffs and stuff like that can be easily connoted with not at all Metal performers. There’s nothing strange in that since guys have really bred musical inspirations. This Rock sound is first of all about Dejana’s vocal which’s from time to time (unfortunately quite often) too less predatory. Sometimes there’s any claw, so in this context you can even doubt if it’s Rock – but if you listen only to vocal. Anyways, she has interesting timbre, potential, possibilities on this field and I can clearly hear who’s her gods of Metal singing. And that are really well-known to everybody Metal Gods – if you’ll don’t be able to hear this then I afraid that you have no ear for music. Vladimir programmed drum-machine in the way that it sounds almost like living drummer. There’s quite many passages and cymbals.

Music is in middle-slow tempo, so that’s clear as day that we shouldn’t expect some crazy speed-ups. But we can hear some slower part instead. OH… Some interesting fact can be that in this band three of four members of CLAUMOREAN are in the same time members of Garčević’s family (Vladimir plays guitar, Goran – bass and Dejana is a vocalist – they all participate in creating of songs, too), so at least in point of line-up we can be almost sure that problems are over and we’ll can enjoy next stuff quite soon.

What takes ‘Sounds from the Dying World’ it’s solid album. There’re some inadequacies, maybe even shortcomings, but… Is there album which absolutely hasn’t it (especially in eyes of musicians)?!? I don’t think so. This band has potential and I think that it’s worth of spending these few Euros.