Red Sparrowes/Grails
Robotic Empire
September 12, 2006

I was a bit leery of purchasing this split. Seeing Red Sparrowes live was an amazing experience, and I didn't want that to be at all tainted by the possibility of being disappointed by their recorded material. I eventually went for it, and after listening to this, decided that I made the right choice.

Red Sparrowes play great epic instrumental rock with spaced out tendencies. Their "no hurry" tempos give all the musicians time to emphasize each note, making the most out of every bar. They also make good use of dynamics, going from loud to soft with the greatest of ease. I'm a huge fan of the bass work on here, as Andy Arahood lays down some great grooves that the guitars and drums (as well as some other wind instruments that make a cameo) build onto, creating a great wall of audible heaviness, building up to an incredible close.

Grails could be the instrumental, non death metal version of Nile. Their music has a very Middle Eastern/Ancient Egytpian feel to it, while also using bass grooves to add an aura of smooth jazz lounge music, a soundtrack to walking a dank dangerous street at the wrong time of night. Grails are also very good at spacing out their notes, adding a fearful atmosphere to the music. Their side of the split is part one (of three) of what they dubbed Black Tar Prophecies, and I'm very interested in hearing the other two parts.

Written by: RF
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