Artist: Poison The Bard
Title: Undead Demo
Type: Album
Label: Digital / Sokol Keep
Firstly the name. I consider this an instruction for the good of all when applied to a dungeon exploring party. However in this case it appears to be a true tale of what happened to this bard, but an event thankfully survived. Secondly I have been assured that having described this evil demo as being full of evilness, the figure behind Poison The Bard is, in fact, evil. So two ticks.
Next we have just over nine minutes to confirm this for ourselves.
‘Banshee Cry’ is the first test. A slow and lovely melody, deep and dark. Haunted sweet vocals wandering through its notes. Lonely, is the word. Lost another. A drum beat….skeletal doom begins. A strange minimalist approach as the harsh vocals almost sneer and cause unease as the drum pounds out. And then the sweetness of the dark returns. It is a lo-fi, hypnotic and genuinely eerie experience. The contrast of the clean and the harsh vocals, a feeling of someone, something, lost in the darkness and not certain of their own feeling or what indeed remains of them.
‘Becoming A Draugr’ begins in a strange and almost slow but chaotic manner, slowly worming its way through the muck and murk led by the quiet, snarled vocals. That simple guitar, the ponderous drums. Moments of slowly rising to a dark, evil power before resting once more, feeding to draw more.
I am, I admit, rather taken with this strange solitary creature. I am not going to pretend that this is beautifully produced, that it is perfectly formed. But what I am going to say is that the intent, the vision is. It is one of those demos that just feels so real, and so right regardless of technical shortcomings. It has a soul, undead or otherwise, and that soul needs to be heard.
Please give Poison The Bard a moment to convince you. I think they will. I for one am more than happy to let this wonder seep over me.
Even if it is evil.
Gizmo
Poison the Bard – Undead Demo | Poison the Bard | SOKOL KEEP
Walking The Liminal Space 