Labels: self released
Review by: Kunal Nandi
This band hail from Italy and share members with the screamo-hardcore outfit The Death Of Anna Karina. Don’t expect much similarity between the two however, especially when it comes to the vocals, because Ornaments don’t have any! Pelican might be a more useful (since a lot of people seem to have heard them), if lazy (seeing as the two bands are not entirely similar), touchstone. Ornaments are instrumental and are similarly much more about melody than pure aural torture like a lot of bands from the doom arena, but where Pelican are all about dragging out a tune to its logically bloated breaking point, Ornaments prefer to go the more unpredictable route, busting out a surprising loud bit during one of their excellent build-ups. They’re also more mid-tempo than you might expect, perhaps belying their faster hardcore roots. Their focused approach means that there’s not an ounce of fat on this, despite the four tracks taking well over half an hour to complete their course. The band apparently has a whole new set written that they are much happier about, and they are already a legendary live act in their locale, which judging by this excellent demo is very exciting news!