Lo-Ruhamah (Bombworks) 2005

1. "Burden Of Reason" (6:11)
2. "The Birthright Of Cain" (7:19)
3. "In Mourning's Arms" [instrumental] (1:34)
4. "He Awoke And Came To Me While I Was Sitting Shiva" (6:35)

Lo-Ruhamah are a fairly new band, having formed only a year before the release of this debut EP. The basis for the music here is black metal, but the band combine elements of of death metal and folk to create something a little different from the average. It's actually the folk elements that I found most interesting. The music throughout is mostly mid-tempo to fast but the band does offer some slower moments as well. Right in the middle of the chaotic "The Birthright of Cain" the band stops on a dime and starts this melodic, mellow folk part that breaks the song up a bit. As well, the short acoustic instrumental offered a nice, mellow break for the general chaos of the other three tracks. One thing I did notice througout was the superb bass playing. The bass is not usually an instrument I pick out of a mix, but in this case, I could hear each and every bass note. To be quite frank, I am not the biggest fan of black metal vocals, so the shreaking vocals didn't do much for me. However, as I said, this is more of a personal preference than anything negative. Overall, this is a promising EP from a band that I am sure will only improve with time. Here's looking forward to a full length