I'm not a huge fan of folk metal. Granted I said this about black metal, too, when I first really started to listen to black metal. And now I like black metal, in fact my top release of 2011 so far is black metal. I was hoping that something like that would happen with folk metal, too. Well, let's just say it didn't go totally as planned. French folk metal group Cave Growl's debut, Something Drunk, didn't really impress me too much, to say the least. Centered on getting drunk at a local tavern this album is a more of the same over and over again, with few bright spots.
Granted this album could've been a complete disaster with just songs about drinking, drinking, and more drinking and no sense of good music at all. But thankfully Cave Growl focuses on the music throughout this album, so it is somewhat bearable. I really shouldn't be too harsh on this album; it is for free off their website and it shows plenty of talent, especially in the drums, but it's hard to find a lot that I like about it. For one the vocals are almost shouts, and they never really find their place on the album. They're not quite growls, but they aren't screams either. The best way to explain it is a mix between the two (plus a couple of drinks thrown in). The riffs on this album are pretty decent, especially the Scottish themed ones on "Captain Blackbeard". The musicianship on this album is definitely very fine, but the whole drinking song atmosphere kind of drags this band down. I would love to see this band find something else to sing about, and I'm sure they will have great success.
The production of this album is another down point. This is a self released album, but I've heard much better production on self released albums, but I've also heard worse, though not much worse. It definitely isn't polished, but in a way it fits the feel of the album. The only problem with that is that I don't really like the feel of the album that much.
Overall this is an okay debut from the French folk metal act, but nothing too impressive by any stretch of the imagination. This definitely isn't the ideal place to start with folk metal, but if you enjoy drinking songs this might just be your cup of tea. Anyway, Something Drunk gets 2.5 stars.
Track Listing
1. Into the Battle (1:44)
2. Hey hey oh (5:55)
3. Tavern Addicted (5:43)
4. Struggle of Life (6:02)
5. Something Drunk (7:09)
6. Cap'tain Blackbeard (5:20)
7. Man of Aran (5:14)
8. Silent Whisper (4:45)
9. Battle's Beer (4:10)
10. Celebrating Victory (4:47)
11. Sons of War (4:31)
12. Lost in the Forest (6:36)
13. Chanson de Joie (3:17)
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