85%
Not Above Evil—The Transcendental Signified (2011)
Details
All music written, performed and produced by Not Above Evil. Engineered, mixed and mastered by Daniel Mucs. Released on independent label (self-release?) in September 2011.
Band
- Sideeq Mohammed—Vocals and bass
- David Gwynn—Guitar
- Damien Levette—Guitar
- Daniel Mucs—Drums
Tracks
- Crossroads
- Legion
- Capture the dawn
- Against the tides
- Nexus
- Death and transformation
- As the curtain falls
- The duel
Review
I’m glad I generally take two or three listens of an album before I review them, because it really took until my third or four listen through to really begin to appreciate the quality of this sophomore full-length release from Manchester melodic death metal band Not Above Evil.
The album clocks in at an old school 44 minutes 10 seconds—short enough to fit on a single side of a TDK D90 cassette! It doesn’t overstay its welcome, and if anything leaves you wanting more.
While there is nothing particularly inspiring or genre-changing about the album it is a solid album with some pretty decent musicianship, production and song writing.
Vocals are gruff and growly but they have some depth and don’t get in the way. The guitars have a melodic bite to them, the bass guitar sits back nicely in the mix and the drums cut through nicely.
It’s great to see such quality from an independent British release.
Conclusion
This is definitely a keeper for me. It took a few listens for it to finally grab my attention but I was rather preoccupied with other bits and pieces during my first few listens.
This is an album that I would seek out to listen to, not just not-skip-over if it came on random play. Good work Manchester metallers!
Review score: 85%