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Anyone even vaguely aware of the local Bilgewatian music scene is at the very least familiar with singer-songwriter Sarah Fortune, better-known by her act name, Syren. She’s very nearly ubiquitous, with her several performances a month—both opening and headlining—keeping her in the public’s eye and at the forefront of their minds. As her nautical name suggests, Fortune is infamous for her dulcet if not sorrowful ballads and textured performances, singing of love, and heartbreak, and the small moments of tenderness woven into the often-painful tapestries of our lives.
Naturally, when word got out that Fortune had co-founded a new act, people sat up and listened—especially when it was rumored that her new bandmate was notorious member of the larger Guardian’s Sea scene Katarina du Couteau.
Another familiar face, du Couteau is regarded with both fondness and skepticism alike: while nobody can fault her dedication to the scene (nor would they have the nerve to), her temper’s reputation precedes her. Certainly, she’s provided basements and floorspace to enough acts passing through that the scene would undoubtedly be far worse without her. Then again, many a gig with du Couteau in attendance has ended in fisticuffs and police calls, and more than one venue has banned her outright.
With one of Bilgewater’s darlings hooked up with one of the most polarizing names out of Noxus, there was a fair bit of skepticism bubbling under the surface: what kind of act would the two collaborate on? More importantly, how would the unlikely duo even find enough in common to compose much of anything?
I received in my PO box a cassette from the duo, now operating under the stylized moniker “FirstBlood,” alongside a letter explaining that this demo tape Down Among the Dead Men was a promotional proof-of-concept, written and recorded in the raw over the course of a week. I can only assume the included letter was intended to showcase the duo as earnest and energetic, but unfortunately, having now heard the demo in question, it may be more accurate to call it a warning.
The tape contains four tracks total of entirely inoffensive punk-flavored metalcore that fails to adequately utilize either du Couteau’s vicious anger or Fortune’s sweeping, dramatic musicality, and struggles to find its bearings as it’s pulled in both directions. This is not to say that the release, as a demo, is altogether bad —opening track “Voracity” has some deliciously thrashy sweep-picked guitar work, and track three “Better Than You” shines as a catchy, fist-pumping anthem that features some excellent call-and-response between du Couteau’s guttural snarls and Fortune’s brassy contralto cleans—but as an offering from two well-established names in the area’s independent music scene, I find myself left wanting for something more original.
This demo, as it stands, sounds like something I might’ve overheard while passing by a smaller stage at Warped Tour circa 2005.
Given the short timeframe in its writing, recording, and promotional-publication, I will say that Down Among the Dead Men manages to escape the most common production issues endemic to demos: the programming and recordings themselves are crystal clear, and the mix, while clearly rough, manages not to venture into muddy territory. The overall offering, while still feeling a little juvenile and dare I say derivative, still has potential. FirstBlood themselves I fully believe still have potential as a band—particularly with all the work they’re putting in currently to promote themselves, managing to latch on as an opener to every remotely-heavy band that’s passed through Bilgewater for the past several months. While this particular demo tape failed to impress, I cannot say that I am not intrigued by where they might go from here.
They just need to dial in on who they want to be as a band first.
OVERALL RATING: 4/10
FFO: Scratch, Pentakill, Kittie
FirstBlood is a Noxian-Bilgewatian metalcore band currently playing in promotion of their debut demo Down Among the Dead Men. Visit them online at https://firstblood.neocities.org/ . For booking, contact at firstbloodband at hotmail.com.