GIVEN TO THE RISING

As much as I love heavy, dark music I found this one a tough one to get into. This is one creepy, atmospheric and intense record.The vocals really reminded me of the way Eddie Vedder screams on some of the songs on the "Vs." record. This guys vocals are deeper though.

"Given To The Rising" opens with a dark, heavy and doom-like soundscape.The vocalist screams out the words. 1 1/2 minutes in the sound mellows out with reserved vocals, but it doesn't last for long. This contrast continues.The tempo speeds up 7 minutes in with some good guitar. Great section. "Fear And Sickness" takes a minute to get going and the direction we're going is sludgey, heavy and slow. The drums pound steadily. "To The Wind" has a fantastic 2 minute intro, as the guitar is picked slowly in the Post-Rock style. It comes back later. We get some creepy spoken words 4 1/2 minutes that eventually sound like a death rattle as he gurgles "To the wind". "At The End Of The Road" has little going on for 3 minutes as we get a creepy, atmospheric mood. Then the vocalist moans out the words. The song finally kicks in at the 5 minute mark as he spits out the words in anger. "Shadow" starts again slowly for a minute and a minute after that we are kicking !

"Hidden Faces" is my favourite. It opens with guitar feedback and sounds and then drums come in. It gets heavy 2 minutes in, as this is one of the best sections instrumentally. By the time "Water Is Not Enough" comes along the vocals are getting a little tiresome. There is a welcomed instrumental interlude with lots of atmosphere.The drums and bass sound great 5 minutes in. It has a spooky ending. "Distill (Watching The Swarm)" has a slower pace until 1 1/2 minutes in we have a real rocker on our hands.3 1/2 mintes in we're crawling along. Not anymore ! We get a long calm passage until he cries out "Distill !". "Nine" has a similar beginning (lots of atmosphere and no melody) as a lot of the songs, but this time it continues through the whole tune. "Origin" features slowly pounding drums that are joined by spoken words 3 minutes in.Guitar comes in about a minute later. Drums stop 8 minutes in as we can only hear guitar until 9 minutes in he screams "I shatter !" as the whole band joins in.

I can see why some would give this a five star rating, but for me 3.5 stars is just right.