E.P Review- Cairiss: Fall

“Fall”is a three song E.P by United Kingdom based Post/Black Metal group Cairiss and was released in June of 2016. I have to be honest up front and say that my knowledge on Black Metal doesn't go much further than Mercyful Fate, Venom, Bathory or say Celtic Frost. However, I have appreciated a lot more of the Black Metal bands that I've heard that actually put real skill and thought into making their music. Cairiss is one of those bands.

Track Listing

1.For The Lives He Stole- This song begins with this soft yet ominous acoustic guitar that sounds like it is being played in a cathedral and I really like the atmosphere that is building and has an almost classical element to it it as well. It of course comes right in with distorted guitars that sound huge and I mean huge. Their singer Freya Brown has an incredible voice that flips from beautiful to beautifully sinister on a fucking dime. I admire the band to write such an incredible piece of music especially for an EP. It has almost a power metal aspect to it in parts as well. I am truly blown away right off the start.

2.Disgraced- The opening almost feels like it has some Spanish guitar influence to it I really dig it and I really enjoy the guitar harmonies as well it really sets a good tone. The thing is, most black metal bands don't have that beautiful aspect to them like these guys do. They usually just go to the heaviest most blasphemous stuff aiming to just rip your head off but Cairiss manages to give an epic performance that even with the guttural vocals, it still has a beautiful sound and I find that amazing that they are able to balance those aspects so well. The song does run a bit too long in some parts but there is enough variety to keep you entertained throughout the almost ten minute ride.

3.Fall- This song has a sad feel to it in the beginning to me I almost picture a funeral with it but also someone walking through a tranquil forest it is really hard to explain. Again I truly admire the production here for what it is going for. It stay quiet for most of the time but toward the end it just hits you over the head with this epic riffing with Browns voice just soaring above it is really good and quite a somber end to this rather enjoyable EP.

Overall, I give this EP probably a solid 3 out of 5. I honestly was expecting a lot more of the extreme Mayhem style black metal I constantly see almost everywhere. However, these guys really pull a classical element that we see in most power metal bands today and they really put together three really good songs that keeps this at almost a perfect length. I am quite curious to see what else Cairiss has in store because with songwriters this talented, there are a lot of ideas they still could culminate. You can check out their EP “Fall” out at https://cairiss.bandcamp.com/