4 tracks - 32:03

This demo is just plain brilliant. This band, a two-man collaboration hailing from Louisiana, dub their mix of many metallic styles "Mercurial Metal", and I do think that is apt - they'll shift from straight thrashing to open, epic sections, then on into somber keyboard bits... but far from haphazard, it actually flows naturally. For all their instrumental skill, the true genius of this band is in the song writing. It takes a lot of talent to be able to play death metal, black metal, prog metal, and new age/keyboard music, etc., but that doesn't compare to the amount of song writing ability it takes to be able to write a song that can encompass all of those styles naturally - and that's what is so stunning about this release because over these four tracks Cea Serin does exactly that. It's deep, emotional, but not pompous or overbearing, and the (mind-boggling) technicality is not there for its own sake, but rather to serve the songs. Utterly fantastic. Track this down any way you can.

© 2000 lord vic
[ originally appeared in EFW#9 ]