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Rating: I challenge anyone to recognize the nationality of this band. Yes, because after riffs so indebted to the Scandinavian school of melodic death, particularly to In Flames, Arch Enemy, and the masters At The Gates, it is almost impossible to ascertain that The Agony Scene is an American band, even based on the abundant modern metal elements present in the album.
Even the Daylight Dies, back then, deceived me because I would have had a hard time attributing that gothic metal to a band from South Carolina. Our guys, however, come from Oklahoma and play, as already stated, a modern melodic death with strong European inspiration, and they are on their debut album. Truly excellent skills, no doubt about it.
Surely this is an above-average album, which is quite rare when talking about debut albums, especially in the case of death metal bands from the States. The Agony Scene, however, shows excellent technical-compositional qualities as well as a marked sense of melody that gives the songs an emotional intensity that we might already expect from more mature bands, producing an album, produced by the Killswitch Engage guitarist, Adam Dutkiewicz, that certainly has all the right ingredients to appeal to those who follow extreme metal (also excellent is the cover of "Paint It Black" by the Rolling Stones!).
A pleasant surprise, I hope our guys continue down this path and find new ideas because they could truly become a most interesting band in the future. When there's talent, hoping never hurts!
Tracklist Lyrics and Videos
01 We Bury Our Dead at Dawn (03:06)
Their whispers become like cries
Tears fall from blinded eyes
Ninty nine have burned as embers
Ninty nine have lost their lives
Tired arms now fight for life
Amidst the crashing waves they're drowning
Will you hold me until mornings light
And I'll tell you what it's like to die
Tonight it's too late to cry now
She sees her face and screams was once so beautiful
Now kissed by flames and showered with glass
So beautiful, yet so cruel
The way love tends to be
Her beauty so cruel
The way love tends to be
Her beauty so cruel
The way love tends to be
Will you hold me until mornings light
And I'll tell you what it's like to die
Will you hold me until mornings light
And I'll tell you what it's like to die
02 Habeas Corpus (03:23)
Stabwounds will take their toll
Murderer with her smile and as an afterthought
She kept the heart he gave her
Beauty can be so cruel
She once swore him forever to make good
On her word ensured he'd never leave her
She lies and whispers loving words
He lay bleeding on this floor
A sigh, a kiss will end his pain
And she drives the blade deeper still
Come closer to me
Crimson streaks the pale skin of her face
From the spray of blood from his throat
His eyes ever questioning why she swore never to leave him
She lies and whispers loving words
He lay bleeding on this floor
A sigh a kiss will end his pain
And she drives the blade deeper still
Come closer, come closer
Come closer, to me
Come closer, come closer
Come closer, to me
Come closer, come closer
Come closer, to me
03 Judas (04:07)
They shut their eyes now that night has fallen
And pray the wolves are kept at bay
For now the mist hang arms wide open
Like some cruel depiction of Christ
For now the silence comforts
Lost souls who in this moment hang
Gracefully by the dead, hidden by shadows
Who've come to take them in their sleep
Falling farther in darkness
Eyes wide lacking comprehension
As sillouettes dance in the flames
Their limbs bound by the shadows that seem
To stare back from the pits of black
For now the silence comforts
Lost souls who in this moment hang
Gracefully by the dead, hidden by shadows
Who's screams echo for eternity
Awakened by their screams
Like something of a nightmare
Lacking the desire to breathe
Wishing for the end
08 Vivid (03:24)
In the midnight hour
We wished for dawn
Alas we've reached the final gaze
Pull the pins from beneath my skin
Kissing each of your eyelids closed
Murderer she looks beautiful bleeding
And the tears fell down
So tired I crawl deep inside of her
I stole a glance of your heart beating
I watched until your lungs ceased bleeding, breathing
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