Monday, October 17, 2011

Demo-lition Derby: Seminary

Seminary
The Bow
There’s nary a skronk, scrape, scratch, squeal or screech Canada’s Seminary don’t pull out of their guitars on The Bow. Clearly, these are musicians who are intimately familiar with their instruments, but I felt there were times they overpowered the rest of the band. The staccato, telegraphing riffs dominate the eight songs that comprise The Bow. The straightforward drums and vocals seem to get lost amid the guitar-driven chaos to such an extent that barely heard cymbal crashes on “Protestant Work Ethic” add desperately needed pizzazz from the rest of the band.
Unlike the guitars, the vocals have only one setting: frothing J.R. Hayes psychosis. It’s an impressive shit fit (kiss off “Pellicle” closes with nothing but his ranting), but stacked against the musical piracy, the screams may be too restrained, too one-note for the multifaceted chaos behind them. The phrasings feel too familiar. I wonder if a more aslant approach would have set off the songs to better effect.
Right now Seminary’s skronk ‘n’ grind is all over the page, but a little more focus and some unity could really push them over the top. You can check out The Bow here.

7 comments:

Alex Layzell said...

Just given it a quick once over listen, talent certainly present, but all the songs just sound the same.

Perpetual Strife said...

What's the deal with Halak? He's single handily ruining my fantasy team and I can't shout "Halak it like that" any more.

DRJones said...

shipped 5 tonight. made the kings look (wait for it) regal. time to make some changes, eh?

Andrew Childers said...

just rub it in why dontcha? i was so stoked when halak came down from the habs but now i'm wondering what the hell is wrong with him. he looks absolutely terrible. when you only face 17 shots a game you shouldn't have a gaa hovering around 3.

Perpetual Strife said...

YOU'RE TELLING ME. The blues improved so much too. now mcdonald has another concussion, halak is jittery, it looks bad even though the team seems to being playing well (allowing that few a shots is a godsend). Maybe he's a goalie like Ward that needs to have shit flung at him every second

Alex Layzell said...

Wait, us grinders are permitted to have interests other than music, films and law?

Andrew Childers said...

i think you're right, strife. when he was backstopping the habs in the playoffs a couple years ago, he was taking something like 35-40 shots a game. i think he's one of those goalies who needs that constant workload to stay focused. he looks lost large chunks of the game when he's not being bombarded.