It has been a big year for split albums and especially split 7" releases,
Count Raven and
Griftegard released one of the best one this year in my opinion but here is another Swedish 7" featuring
Isole and
Semlah. This one is a bit harder to get excited about but it is still good and especially interesting is the choice of songs these two bands have chosen for the split.
Isole deliver a track titled
"The Punished" which was originally recorded for a demo is 1996. Strange that should dig so far back into their past for a choice of material but even stranger is that is sounds so much like a freshly written song. The band already had their chops down it seems, even back then.
Semlah on the other hand have recorded a cover of
"Black Flame" originally recorded by UK progressive rock band
Renaissance which first appeared on their 1974 album "Turn Of The Cards." The band give the song a fresh treatment and a new lease of life here as the original always sounded a little stale to me, even back in the early 80's when I first heard it.
Semlah features ex
Count Raven bassist Tommy "Wilbur" Eriksson and has built up a respectable reputation over their 9 years as a band.
Isole is the more well-known of two having recorded 4 great albums including the highly underrated
"Throne of Void" album in 2006.
Semlah however only have one full length album, the very respectable self-titled album released in 2009.
Both the tracks on here of are about the same standard to me so I can't pick who wins the battle on this one. Both tunes are solid but perhaps the
Isole track is more memorable when all is said and done. This limited 7" is out on Cyclone Empire Records and it is worth getting especially if you are a fan of both bands, if not I wouldn't go out-of-my-way to get it. Nothing mind-blowing here but it's two great bands with two songs that are both decent without setting the world on fire. Rather than recommending this split, I urge you to check out the bands full-lengths instead. You can seek these tunes out later...................7/10
Isole Official
Isole @ Myspace.com
Semlah Official
Semlah @ MySpace
Cyclone Empire Records
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