"Ashes of
Forever"
"The Land Where the
Crow Starves"
"Maiden
America"
Demo '99
Live Reviews
Brutalized #4
“Wow, this is some original shit from this 4-piece metal
band from my homestate who I’ve never heard of before
receiving this 10 song disc from them. This is truly some
great, enjoyable heavy music. Edenrot are sort of hard to
label because they have various elements from different
styles within their sound. The vocals vary from a low,
gruff voice to a more clean style. Musically, I’d have to
say they’re technical, melodic death metal with a strong
sense of depth and feeling to it. Pretty much all of the
10 songs on this CD flow nicely with a dominating melodic
presence added to offbeat time changes that make you wonder
what’s next. Technical, complex arrangements only
compliment the unique music presented here by 4 musicians
who know how to play their instruments and write some
catchy, heavy, original death metal. This was definitely
an interesting listen. Tired of the same old? Check out
Edenrot.”
Metal Maniacs, October 1997
“Begun three years back, Edenrot tried to get its act
together before storming the underground prematurely.
Taking a professional approach, the band wrote an album’s
worth of material in its first two years, rehearsing and
refining it to create something inspired by a variety of
favorites, yet remaining unique in its own right. While it
took a couple of spins to truly begin appreciating its
finer moments, there is notable promise within the Ashes of
Forever CD that should blossom even further with the next
outing. Melding influences from Paradise Lost, Carcass,
Megadeth, and Pantera, the band tried to create something
any metal fan could enjoy. While I’d have to say that
Edenrot leans closer to the death side of things, in terms
of a more bestial and raw attack, there’s a musical
identity here that most aggressive bands don’t maintain.
There also seems to be an effort made towards arrangement,
as well as a hearty nod to groove and atmosphere. While
the band’s grand concept is evident, it is still not
realized, needing a little more work on the harsh vocals to
make it more memorable and a slightly better production to
truly carry through the ideas”
Word of Mouth #12, July 1998
“This is not at all what I was expecting. From the name
and title of the album, I was looking forward to a raging
slab of pure dark metal with eerie keyboard passages. What
I got was Skeletal Earth without the punk influence. This
comparison is due to the groovy death-like hooks and the
foot-tapping riffs that make this quite an enjoyable
listen. Throwing in some piano and clean guitar now and
then to spice things up, Edenrot play nothing but well done
death metal that should appeal to fans of Dying Fetus as
well as the aforementioned Skeletal Earth.
Further comparisons to Skeletal Earth can be made in the
vocal area. The rasping, not guttural, vocal delivery of
the Scott Hoffman and Al Ginther tag team could easily be
mistaken as Travis Ogletree from Skeletal Earth even by
diehard Skeletal Earth fans such as myself. Keep in mind
that this is not a complaint. This is a complement. I’m
quite sure that Edenrot did not have Skeletal Earth in mind
when writing their music, so I am definitely not
discrediting them in any way with these comparisons.
The ten tracks on this CD flow nicely and are the product
of a band who has found its niche and knows how to master
its domain. This is their debut CD and judging from this
album I would bet that their recordings in the future will
contain a further-progressed sound from this already-mature
band, and most likely will be a worthy addition to the
collection of any heavy music fan. I will be looking
forward to more material from Edenrot, that’s for sure. It
is a very impressive feat when a more or less
straightforward death metal band can keep me entertained
these days. My ears are callused to the death metal sound
and I find myself shying away from all but the elite in the
death metal field. Calling Edenrot “elite” might be a bit
overly flattering, but with time and dedication, I have no
doubt that they could turn into just that.”
Word of Mouth #12, July 1998
“Edenrot. What does the name tell you? Perhaps brutal
death metal, perhaps doom metal. Perhaps neither. What
Edenrot actually are is hope. Hope for a stagnant scene
and a stagnant style. As Emperor have injected life into
black metal, Edenrot have injected life into death metal
with The Land Where the Crow Starves. No pun intended.
Their soaring melodies are nicely offset with “glass of
milk” rasps and heavy guitars. The opener, “…Where Anger
Breathes” perfectly displays their love of toying with
brutality, all the while, being above such “immature”
attention getting techniques. Their doomy yet crushing
riffs catch in your mind like a nasty case of herpes and
throttle you into submission. “Black Blood on White Wings”
is my favorite track on the disc. Opening with a serene
and somber guitar passage, this song has it all:
Immeasurably cool clean vocals, that rival any in the
extreme music scene, harmonize with a plethora of engaging
and challenging moods and textures, leaving their indelible
mark on your eager ear drums. Each of the four tracks on
this, the latest release from Twilight Records, offer
something unique and rare to the listener. The
composition, structure and passion that this band bears is
enough to make many young bands weep in jealous and envy.
Conviction, truth, talent, power, and energy. This is the
Edenrot recipe. These are elements many strive for, but
few achieve… Edenrot reeks of them.”
Brutalized #6
“This sophomore release from this talented PA quartet sees
the band maturing immensely in practically all areas. On
this 4-song mini-cd they have distanced themselves even
more form the standard death metal sound, opting instead to
gain ground heading into highly intricate and diversely
structured atmospheric metal territory. “Black Blood on
White Wings” shows Scott singing with clean vocals
throughout, which he does well, and could possibly briefly
be compared to Mr. Swano’s clean vocal sound. “Crosses of
Ice” has a slight resemblance to the now largely redundant
Swedish sound Gothenburg made known, but even on this track
they triumph and retain their own strength & identity.
Allan’s vocals are full of aggression and conviction this
time around. His coarse, raspy bellowings have much more
strength in them when compared with their debut CD. The
music captured on these 4 tunes is filled with emotion,
passion and diversity, and easily showcase the instant
talent they possess, which coupled with their desire for
excellence will undoubtedly make them a serious presence in
the underground. Paradise Lost/Edge of Sanity with hints
of My Dying Bride would be a mild comparison. An intense,
brilliant, multi-faceted CD from PA’s brightest star, which
has only begun to shine. This band is destined for
greatness. There is also an unlisted bonus live track,
which accents their powerful live sound well. A great,
essential addition to any metal fan who appreciates great
music. Fantastic job guys (and Rose too!).”
Lamentations of the Flame Princess
“Doomy, deathish metal, never straying into speedy
territory, but not all THAT slow either. In fact, while
the vocals are for the most part brutal, the music ISN’T.
Let me clarify. This isn’t wimpy by ANY means, but it
seems that they are more concerned with creating good songs
of a metal bend then they are trying to bash out extreme
cuts. Black Blood on White Wings is actually somewhat
calm, while Succession has this great majestic opening and
a classic heavy metal feel throughout. While I wouldn’t
say Edenrot have found a unique sound, they have sure
pulled together some influences into an interesting mix
that is good now, but screams for greater potential for the
future.
Edenrot score major points with me for having intelligent
lyrics that SAY something. I’m a sucker for lyrics based
on literature, and Crosses of Ice is based on some of
Dante’s Inferno. Succession tells a story about royalty
gone wrong, and Black Blood on White Wings is just plain
entertaining. Two vocalists pretty much run the gamut of
styles in extreme metal, mostly brutal, and there is even
real singing done. Pretty cool.
The production is adequate, if not spectacular. The
booklet actually manages to get in the thank yous AND the
lyrics, which too many bands and labels don’t do. As it
should be, but nothing to knock your socks off.
Another fine example of why the United States is not
creatively dead, but I am wondering why only the smaller
labels are picking up on that? Twilight Records isn’t coming
on full-force like some other labels, but they have some
quality acts and the upcoming Iron Maiden tribute and the
Deceased live CD will surely increase their notoriety. I
just can’t wait to hear what Edenrot does form here!”
Canadian Assault #3
“I am proud to present thee with a great new (to me
anyways) great dynamic death metal act from PA… Edenrot are
extremely talented musicians. The odd clean vocal is
thrown in but generally there are alterations between deep
understandable growl and raspy shriek with an overall
enjoyable outcome. I hear some Scandinavian influence like
early Edge of Sanity and the like mixed in with the
American approach. Unlike most American acts, melody is
important to Edenrot.”
Chaotic Critiques Mini Zine #10
“A fine four-song CDEP from Edenrot, released by the up and
coming Twilight Records. Edenrot is an uncategorizable
metallic mixture, bringing death, black, and power metal
together under an ominous cloud of violent songwriting.
The production is raw without sinking to black metal levels
of primitiveness, and the guitar riffs successfully mix the
dreary atmosphere of doom/death with the melodic
sensibilities of power metal. Add vicious howls and snarls
over the top, offer some surprising clean vocals that,
though a bit stiff, hint at an interesting duality, and
Edenrot is a band with tons of potential that will
hopefully be explored in greater detail on its upcoming
full-length.”
Discordia #2
“I had only heard one song of Edenrot’s on the Twilight
Records sampler last summer and I was already in love with
them. When Scott Hoffman (guitar/vocals) told me that
Chris Maycock was going to send me a disc, I couldn’t wait. It was two weeks after that when I finally received it and
yowza, it was worth the wait! I’m sure that you have heard some good things about this band if you are into death
metal, as they seem to be building up quite a little hype. There is reason for this as skillful playing, creative
songwriting, and originality all come into play here. The
music is quite beautiful and 80’s sounding. Three vocal
stylings are used by the two vocalists, one being an
ear-piercing, black metal rasp,a deep, harsh, death metal
growl, and a strong clean style. A better production is
the only complaint that I have for this disc, as it holds
the band back somewhat, but this is still great. The only
thing that I have left to tell you is to by this now,
Jack!” ****
Unknown
Edenrot are one of those bands that is diffcult to accurately categorize. One could say they embrace death metal elements, namely in the raspy vocals. Clean vocals are used throughout this four-song disc as well, to great effect. Musically, the band owes more to melodic doom metal ala Paradise Lost and Candlemass than any of their extreme counterparts. Despite the harshness of some of the vocals, this CD contains some damn good melodies. I applaud the band for concentrating on writing strong songs rather than trying to over-indulge themselves rhythmically. The last track, "Crosses of Ice" increases the momentum a bit, but melodic doom is what Edenrot are doing on "The Land Where the Crow Starves." They do it well, too. Fans of Paradise Lost, Candlemass, and Amorphis check out Pennsylvania's Edenrot.
Metal Maniacs, June 1999
“…the song (Hallowed Be Thy Name)is well-treated,
particularly the bass rumbling along beautifully. 'Aries
Shield'...blows away any of the band's earlier
material...Looking forward to more from this band.”
Brutalized Zine "Final Issue"
"This new 4 song demo features 3 new brand new tracks and a good cover of Maiden's "Hallowed Be Thy Name" closing things out. These three new tracks are a serious step into really expressing what this band is capable of creating. Their music is full of melodious hooks and the duel vocal efforts of Allan, who does the raspy screams, and Scott, who does the death growls and lower end clean vocals, which gives their sound a bit of dimension in the vocal area. Scott is still toying with clean vocals in their work, and is getting there with improvement. If you enjoyed their prior mini-Cd, you will probably like this, although you probably won't get to hear it as this demo was made for friends and labels primarily. Brutal death freaks won't find much to praise here, but if your a fan of melodic and emotional death metal with doom elements in it you will surely dig this band. I think a label like Century Media would benefit from this bands abilities."
Metal Maniacs "September 2000, Firing
Squad"
"Edenrot is a band that's carved out a bit of a name for itself(with an EP on Twilight Records, as well as an appearance on Twilight's own Maiden America double-disc tribute album). It seems the band is now seeking a new label deal with the submission of the four-song Demo '99 promo tape. Three are original compositions, while "Hallowed Be Thy Name" is, of course, the Iron Maiden classic. Mostly it's meandering Euro-styled metal, with stray guitar melodies that wander unchecked and some harsh vocals thrown overtop. It's all somewhat thinly produced, but the sound quality is decent enough to allow you to pick out all the instruments easily. Drums are supplied courtesy of Dawnbringer drummer "The Hammer," and the material is decent-but-not-spectacular to these ears, but fans of the band's material thus far and curious onlookers will probably want to pick up this four-song tape, as it only runs..." (That guy has never liked us. -Allan)
Live Reviews
Word of Mouth #9, May 1997
“Let me begin by saying that The Rock is the coolest place
I’ve seen a show. It’s, no shit, a prison from the early
1900s (or possibly the late 1800s? I forget) barely
touched after being abandoned in the 1950s. It was only
rebuilt to the extent necessary to pass building
inspections…all the bars are still on the windows, all of
the cells are still there. Killer.”
“Edenrot got the crowd going, playing every song but one
from their well-received Ashes of Forever CD. “Craven” and “Pagan’s Poem” went down particularly well, with the vocal
tradeoffs between Scott Hoffman and Allan Ginther being
particularly pleasing to the crowd. Be assured that
Scott’s onstage manner is leagues removed from the
calculated and ridiculously anal manner in which he reviews records. Madmen. All of them. Except for Rose Mraz,
their new bassist, who is a madwoman.”