The Next Big Thing
Season's End, the UK's beloved female fronted metal band have released their first DVD. Whilst most bands wait until they've got a couple of albums under their belt, Season's End plunge into the deep end with 'Ascension'.
Featuring the whole of their performance at Bloodstock 2005 in a gritty, involving way, the DVD is any fans ideal companion to give a healthy dose of that memorable voice and the meaty instruments backing Becki Clarke up.
Featuring just 5 songs- don't think their set isn't long however- that hold far more power than their album counterparts. 'Nothing After All' kicks off, hauntingly sensual but by no means slow- You could bang your head to this as easily as you could wail along.
'Touch', like always, stands out as a real highlight and the band's energy is so fraught you can feel it from your TV screen. Newcomer to their setlist, 'Nevermore' blends in perfectly, but takes the band's music to a new level. Heard Season's end bandied as the successor to Nightwish's throne? This song shows why. Dark, melancholy, moodily powerful and melodic- not to mention fairly... lengthy! The song is a real step up from the material from their first album. Of course, 'Ghost In My Emotion' is the real star of this set- it's unmistakeable beginning is packed with emotion as it races towards it's dramatic mid-song explosion. The band close the set with another newer song- 'Into The Flames', a much heavier song. Despite the riffs, the song still retains it's grace and elegance and again brings to mind the ill-fated Finish band. The mid-song end drum/bass jam really shows off why this band are hot stuff to keep an eye on. Slowly, but surely, Season's End will find their way into any metaller who cares about the quality of their music collection.
Sure, the production of the DVD is not quite at the level a number one artist would be treated to, but it certainly puts Evanescence's poorly produced live DVD to shame! With all the extras included on this- interviews with the band on how it feels to play in front of that many people, and how they landed their slot on the 2004 Bloodstock lineup. With no holds barred, the DVD reveals the band as people rather than as one unit. Featuring drunken nights with the band, the slick promotional video for 'Ghost In My Emotion' and Acoustic versions of two of their songs, 'Celestia' and 'Touch', this is a jam-packed DVD suitable for anyone ranging from "oh I heard that song of theirs... what was it's name again?" to die-hard fans.
Support your local metal band and buy this DVD- or at the very least pop it on your Christmas list and who knows what Santa will bring you this year!