The Beckoning is a gothic metal band, with symphonic elements that hail out of Saint John, New Brunswick. Formed by founding members Meghann and Roy Turple, they have chosen to craft their sound from utilizing elements of gothic, doom, death, and avant metal. They had their debut release back in 2010, with their demo “Bloodlet”
“War”, Released on June 20, 2012 for me is a technical symphonic gothic metal 2 song demo that enters a very populated genre with some really top acts. You would have to be ground breaking to stand out amongst the crowd of symphonic and gothic orientated bands. There are some really high calibre guys out there doing this. I am a big fan of a lot of the symphonic and gothic metal bands, and this though very good, put up against the line up of the others; that’s the best it does for me. There is to its saving grace some great guitar and technical pieces thrown in amongst the songs. Apparently their debut full length album did not achieve what they initially sort out to achieve, this immediately makes one listen with caution and trepidation. “Battle Cry”, did not really do it for me, it’s great in some ways but it’s not strong enough to stand out. On the other hand listening to “Lamentation” the second song on this demo, well, wow! I think it came together here, and saved the demo from the gutter. I really hope that this song is the ruler for measurement for what one expect from The Beckoning when they bring out their next full album. It starts with a very good piano piece that is both haunting and inviting, it enters a bit of chant before hitting in to a menacing ruckus of guitars and drums that beat and pulverize ones ear drums in a beautifully way. This is a great piece of music brilliance, and like I said if this song is anything to go by, then these guys have a chance to step out of the shadows and stand separate to the rest. The driving beat is infectious, and the female vocals are enchanting and simultaneously haunting, working so well with what the rest of the band is doing.
I would say let’s be positive and let these guys show their stuff, because if “Lamentation” is anything to get excited about, then the full release should be something worth a listen. They really have some great ideas here that could really work for them in a full album release, so head off to their bandcamp page and listen for free, give them support, and hopefully our support will encourage them just to get better. Checking their facebook profile, it reads 7236 fans, and well with that kind of support already after one album and a demo, well the numbers say it…
So my concluding thoughts is that I think they have something great that could really work for them on a full release, and from a personal ‘like’, “Lamentation” scores with me big on this demo, it’s a beautifully written song, that paints a brutal landscape of technical mastery, and as a standalone its extremely strong from all subjective angles, unfortunately “Battle Cry” does not match it for me, and in the big swimming pool of great music, though good, could be seen as being a little mediocre in comparison. But nevertheless a great introduction into what we can expect or look forward to from the upcoming full release.
For fans of: Nightwish, HB and Epica
Rating: 7/10
Review By: Donovan de Necker
Tracklist:
1. Lamentation (6:28)
2. Battle Cry (4:08)
Band members:
Roy Turple – Vocals, Drums
Meghann Turple – Vocals, Keyboards, Piano
Eldon Loewen – Guitar, Bass
Releases
Bloodlet [demo] 2010
Demystifying The Oracle [full lenght] 2011 [CD review]
War [demo] 2012
Compilations
‘The Killing Fields’ [Warclub Records Comp] 2011
‘Cyber 10 Dark Nights’ [Cyber 10 Records] 2011
‘Songs That Made an Impact 2011’ [coming soon]
‘Canadian Metal Assault’ 2011 [Voices of the underground]
The demo is available for FREE here.
Record Label: Self released, June 2012