The Entity - Salt

Bandname: The Entity
Title: Salt
Genre: Melancholic Rock/Metal
Release Date: Autumn 2002
Record Company / Label: Rage of Achilles

 

It’s no secret that Norway is a country with some of the best bands around when it comes to bombastic or dark & heavy music. Sometimes there are so many good bands coming from there, that you hide yourself from the bombardment, until one of those special bands comes along that is different or that is honest and sincere. The Entity is one of them; or was. I actually don’t know if they still exist. They were working on a full-length album, until their English record label decided to call it quits somewhere in 2004. I guess only the good die young…
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Line-Up

Hakon Viken - vocals
Christian Totland - guitars, vocals
Tore Grindheim - guitars
Pal Lystrup - drums, percussion
Anders Vaage - bass, guitars, mandolin, vocals, programming
Gunnar Odland - all keys, programming, didgeridoo, vocals


Song Review

1. Salt  – 4:46
A very sullen, moody start with some acoustic guitars and the sorrow-filled vocals of  Håkon. The distorted guitars enter when the vocals get slightly more intense after a few minutes. This is melancholic rock, not metal. A subtle but dark atmosphere. It does remind me a little of Anathema at times.

2.  Duality – 4:25
Clean guitars and then some pounding drum-beat open this track. Followed by heavy guitars and a gothic guitar melody line. This song is definitely heavier than the first. The distortion fades out and the vocals come in. Another depressing vocal line + lyrics. The chorus is louder again. This looks to be the best track of the EP. Catchy. This must have gone down very well live. Again I hear Anathema blended with a little Katatonia and Opeth every now and then. A great track!

3.  Nemesis – 5:06
This track is even heavier and darker. Apparently this isn’t one of The Entity’s own tracks (which is noticeable). Nemesis is a cover version of a Seigmen track. Atmospheric sounds over heavy guitars. The vocals aren’t so much bound by a line as they are pushed out with force. A laid back dark and evil sounding passage in the middle breaks the song in 2. They made the song sound like something Katatonia could have written. It turns a little bit into loose sand before the band picks up on the chorus again.

4. Acoustic Salt – 4:44
No, this isn’t a new song. It is an acoustic version of the opening track. A Minimalistic version that sounds even more sincere and fragile as the original. Nicely done. The emotion reflects of this version as it does with all of The Entity’s own tracks. It almost makes the EP into 1 track. Starting and finishing with Salt, with 2 “mood swings” in the middle. It leaves you slightly down and depressed, but hey… that’s the way we like it.

Total playing time: 19:03
Total numbers: 4

Cover pictures




Conclusion

It’s inevitable. In the huge stream of bands that is hurled towards the listener there are always the little gems that get lost; fall into the drain or get stuck into a cracked floorboard, never to be found of heard of again. I’m afraid that this 4 track EP will always be the only thing released by The Entity. In some way it compliments the overall emotion that drips of this EP. It’s too bad. I would have loved to have heard from them again. And when this is their only release, I must say that it’s such a waste that it actually only contains 2 (!!) real songs by them. An acoustic version and a cover version is a little bit too much when you’re releasing just a 4 track EP. I bet they were hoping to release their full length shortly after. Damn.

Music: 8
Sound: 7
Extra's: n/a
Total: 7,5