SCAR WINTER

Sun Cage's first EP released in 2000, sees the band in the process of finding their identity. Ahead of them lay periods of considerable turbulence in their line up and style, before they released their first album.

The opening track " Zombie resurrection" is a heavy OPETH like piece of death metal, with more melodic interludes. The singing ranges from growling to pleasant male/female harmonies. Likewise, the guitar work is at times heavy and riff laden, and sometimes highly tuneful. The track is a rather jarring concoction without a clear direction, but with obvious potential.

"Killer banshee" sees the DREAM THEATER influences, which have quickly become a dominant feature of the band's music, come to the fore for the first time. This lengthy instrumental is a guitar dominated jam which ducks and dives through constant theme changes, without ever really saying anything.

The EP's title track, "Scar winter" returns us to the style of the opening number, with a mixture of growls and more orthodox singing. The occasional female vocals offer a variety absent from subsequent EPs. This is probably the best of the bunch here, the track showing more clearly the direction the band would later settle upon.

The final track "Caged" is an almost ambient piece, which seems rather out of place both in terms of the EP, and with subsequent work by the band.

A decent first EP, but the band had some way to go before attaining sufficient maturity to make their debut album. These tracks are currently available for download at the band's website, via the link from their page on this site.