Every once and a while an unknown band shows up with their promo CD requesting to be reviewed. It’s always a risk as a reviewer to end up with something crappy, but it’s also a chance to discover something worth while. The same thoughts crossed my mind when I signed up to review the demo by the Dutch Fangor called The First Sign of Life.

 

When receiving The First Sign of Life I was already pleased by the professional graphics and additional promotional information. These guys already made a good impression! Although the demo only contains four songs, they definitely put an effort into presenting something serious, especially since they claim to have put the cover together themselves.

 

The music of Fangor is hard to describe. The band labels itself as an avant-garde metal band, which has some sense of truth in it but I think that’s too restricted to do this band justice. For instance, 'End of Life' has an obvious death metal attitude with its aggressive fast beats and low grunts until you reach the outro which is extremely cold and melancholic. You might wonder if these different styles should be intertwined and I can confirm this. At least Fangor does a pretty good job to combine them. 'Still not Knowing' still has that low grunt, but also some high pitched screams, clean vocals and is much more melodic than the previous track.

 

Fangor has successfully created a demo with so many different styles on it. They come across as a band that knows what they are doing and I’m very curious if and when they release a debut album whether or not it will be half as good as this demo. Well done!