Archives of the Dead part III… As Serenity
Fades – Earthborn (EP 1994)
Line up: Henri Fagerholm (Bass), Tom Henriksson (Drums), Sami Vainikka (Guitars), Peter Viherkanto (Guitars) and Sami Kotiranta (Vocals)
Recorded & mixed at Studio-MDM by Erkki Salo & As Serenity Fades in September 1993.
As Serenity Fades is yet another Finnish band,
which I would like to introduce and one, which I think is not much remembered,
even though they have appeared in many fanzines back in the early 90’s and
their demo “Lowering Sunset” and “Earthborn” MCD (released by Adipocere) gave
them some decent recognition. Recently “Earthborn” has been repressed on vinyl
through the excellent The Crypt Records, as usually packed in the amazing gatefold
cover, with the demo “Lowering Sunset” and “Rosegardens” (by August Moon, a
band formed after As Serenity Fades split up) as bonus. I honestly haven’t had
a chance to get this LP yet, but I do must admit that sometimes I like to
listen to “Earthborn”, if only I’m in the mood for something more melodic and
doomy. As Serenity Fades is similar band to such God Forsaken, to name just one
Finnish band, whose “Dismal Gleams of Desolation” was really a cool album. And
obviously both bands have been hugely influenced by the British doom scene,
with the legendary early albums of Anathema and Paradise Lost, but first and
foremost they have also been inspired by the Swedish bands.
When I listen to “Earthborn” nowadays I cannot
say that the music of this Finnish band was anything really special or
original, it honestly didn’t differ from many other similar sort of bands, both
quality and music wise. But anyway this was a decent portion of melodic doomy
death metal and if you like some of the names, which I have mentioned above or
below, then I am sure that you’ll like this MLP as well. I like the production
of “Earthborn”; it sounds truly well and heavy, quite traditionally for some
Scandinavian bands. I’ve mentioned above that As Serenity Fades has a strong
influence from Paradise Lost and Anathema, but I really need to add also
Tiamat, especially from “Clouds” LP and other Swedish bands, like Gorement. So,
think of all the best melodic doom death metal bands from the early 90’s. As
Serenity Fades creates a nice, dark and sorrowful atmosphere, but the music has
enough variation to avoid boredom, even if the whole stuff is either slow or
mid paced, speaking of the tempo, but there’s enough of good ideas to capture
your attention and interest. Interesting is that “Earthborn” didn’t follow the
trend of having keyboards or female vocals, something what 90% of similar bands
started doing at that time. No, all vocals are just harsh, aggressive growls
and the only additional instrument, which accompanies these more or less
melodic riffs is the acoustic guitar, which appears in one or two fragments.
The whole performance is very decent; I especially like the drumming, as
definitely this guy behind the drum kit knew how to play some interesting
parts… And songs like “Yearning” and “Earthborn” (with some killer melodies,
which remind me Amorphis a lot) are a real highlight and a great offer,
especially for all those, who enjoy their death metal if it’s more atmospheric
and doomy…
“Earthborn” is actually the only As Serenity
Fades recording, which I know, I never had a chance to hear “Lowering Sunset”
demo or “Promo 1994”, I also never heard anything from August Moon – band,
which was formed after the split up of As Serenity Fades. But “Earthborn” on
its own is enough to convince me that they were a very solid and worthy band.
Final rate: 70/100
Here I actually could have written a whole article about As Serenity Fades, as I have some old interviews and info about the band, but sadly I haven't got any other recordings of this band, except "Earthborn"... so this is why I do this this way...
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