Argus - Demo 2007 - review
Argus - Demo 2007 - review
Tracklist
01. Beyond (Part 1 - Eternity)02. The Damnation Of John Faustus
03. Bending Time
04. Sleeping Dogs
05. The Effigy Is Real
A review by
Raiden November 26, 2007
This Spring demo is Argus' first and their first ever release. That considered, it's a rather decent piece of work. While you wouldn't expect the production to be crystal clear, and it isn't, it doesn't really take away from the music either. Many-a-demo has been spoilt by such a factor, their music being basically drowned out. Thankfully Argus' music doesn't suffer from such a shortcoming.
The main strengths of Argus are probably their vocals and maybe even the guitar-work. Not that the bass playing or drumming is especially bad or anything. The bass lines aren't exactly all that crisp, but they are at least prominent and don't drone on too much. The drumming follows pretty basic patterns but again, while it isn't a stand out feature of the music, it is still fine to listen to. So on to the more out-standing elements. The deeper riffing partly attributes to the catchiness of some of the songs. There are few solos, which I think is probably a good thing but the guitar-work establishes a nice foundation for the music. The vocal performance from Butch Balich is excellent though. It's something like a non-extreme Slayer/Entombed cross breed. I'm just using that as a point of reference though, Butch's vocals are more distinctive than that. When he sings, you feel that there's a lot of soul behind it. He makes you want to sing along with him and he holds his notes very well. For me this was possibly the best feature about this demo.
This Spring Demo is a pretty good indication of future successes from Argus, and while it suffers from a few drawbacks, it's rather a nice listen. It's also available for download from their label site - http://www.againstnature.us/bh/artists/argus/argus.htm so anyone can hear it.
Rating breakdown
| Performance: | 8 |
| Songwriting: | 8 |
| Originality: | 7 |
| Production: | 7 |
Written by Raiden | November 26, 2007
Comments
Comments:
5
Visited by
19 users
 Posts: 5102 |
Posts: 5102
Downloaded the album some time ago and I like it...couldn't agree with the review more actually. It's pretty much spot on
----  Dreams are made so we don't get bored when we sleep
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 Posts: 2154 |
Posts: 2154
I thought that this would merit a slightly higher rating actually. Good review for the most part. Even I got this a while ago through Hellride (where Butch posts on) and I pretty much gulped it up. But I'm a sucker for Wino-drenched Doom so...
---- "You're all the same, the lot of you, with your long hair and faggot clothes. Drugs, sex, every sort of filth. And you hate the police, don't you? You make it easy."
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 Posts: 13427 |
Posts: 13427
great demo, very recommended! download or buy it.
---- SLUDGE. DOOM. DEATH. Wait, what?  "The reason I'm running for president is because I can't be Bruce Springsteen." - Barack Obama
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Posts: 8292 Written by CrypticMyth on 27.11.2007 at 20:08 Well, a 7 means good and an 8 means very good, so...  Thanks for the comments! The use of Blackadder font is cool too! 
---- "Scream for me Melbourne!!!!" - Bruce Dickinson "I don't see any god up here" - Yuri Gagarin (while in orbit, 1961)
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 Posts: 40071 |
Posts: 40071
Now availabale as gatefold 10" vinyl called Sleeping Dogs with extensive liner notes by all the band members.
---- Member of the true crusade against European Flower Metal Yesterday is dead and gone, tomorrow is out of sight Dawn Crosby (r.i.p.) 05.04.1963 - 15.12.1996 
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