I might be too late on this one, but it is better late than never. The truth is I have had this two demo collection from Pennsylvania’s The Green Evening Requiem for a while now. A very cool writer for a popular mag sent this to me. I have had this in my player for the longest time, enjoyed it tremendously, but struggled about how to write a review. Every time I spun the disc I discovered new facets to this gem, so I figured that another listen through is needed and postponed the writing process.

Afterwards I moved the CD to my car, where I always make notes before I start writing. I kept it there until my notes’ list grew so damn long I knew it would be unmanageable. All if this, perhaps, is a sign of something non-trivial to emerge, and I can guarantee you if The Green Evening Requiem

The reason it is so difficult to write a review for The Green Evening Requiem and why it is so interesting is its involved many-sided nature. The first five tracks come from the 2005 demo and I believe reveal the current face of this talented band. There is full of light, practically soaking in it, intro to Atlantis in Winter, there is grit and blast driven harshness in the same song. From good use of dissonance Sacrament develops at a steady pace with a classic, practically Iron Maiden like riff. On Salted Earth is brilliant, but tough to get into with its progressive jerky arrangements and sludgy drony character. The Shadow Rift is up tempo almost Gothenburg style song and Expiration is Pacific Northwest style atmospheric black metal with tremolo and ripping vocals. Interestingly enough, with such incredible versatility I found myself liking everything the band did. The back side of the disc, where older Winter 2004 demo tracks are presented, is a little less complex, and also a little less elegant. More straightforward atmospheric death metal with surface melodies is the order of the day. Severence and Tomorrow is Just Another Day are very much like that, the latter a more gloomier version of the genre with some super guttural vocals and blasbeat interrupts. Dawn is also moody, but a bit more melodic, more one-dimensional song.

Vocals of The Green Evening Requiem, which could be an oversight for many other bands of this nature, for some reason draw me in like a fire captivates a moth. There are multiple variety harsh vocals, some clean, very boyish, almost Beatlesque singing. Some of the harsh vocals could be painful shriekbacks (Atlantis in Winter), but at times sound practically hardcore with their angst (Sacrament).

Are you getting a picture so far? I knew I would have tough time describing this to you, so I’d have to revert to the dreaded comparisons. The fact is, however, there are so many sides to the band even that lifeline does not completely help. There is definitely a Katatonia atmosphere here, Agalloch creepiness, and earlier tracks could appeal to Novembre and Novembers Doom fans. And then there is the inevitable Opeth link. No, there aren’t similar riffs or many prog rock influences here. There is just this vivid complexity of the picture painted by The Green Evening Requiem, yet I dare to say the songs on this demo have more flow than some produced by the Swedes.

The biggest drawback here which does not let me enjoy this completely is poor production, or almost complete lack thereof. There is just one big gap between the jumbled middle and percussive treble frequencies, and criminal lack of low end. However, I implore you to give it a try, if any of the bands I mentioned in my poorly written review ever appealed to you.

Seeing how the band gets distribution nowadays on The End Records, I think I am actually not that late. In fact, I may be timely, as this interesting album just became available among wider circles.