A Fool’s Mockery – Empire Of Doubt
A Fool’s Mockery – Empire Of Doubt
Self-Released
Release Date: 01/02/2021
Running Time: 63:43
Review by Victor Augusto
8.5/10
Music can be a very interesting thing and I am not just talking just about the act of hearing it, but how it connects people around the world. As you probably know, I am the first Brazilian to be part of Ever Metal and during almost 2 years with this beautiful team, I have understood a little more of the culture in the UK, even if I still live an ocean apart from them. But it is funny that, even though I have got closer to them, I still discover things from there, from friends in my own country and this is how I found out about A Fool’s Mockery, an amazing band from the UK, thanks to their singer and my great friend Emannuel Thorsen.
Emannuel is also Brazilian and we lived in the same city when he was part of a great band called Hell Bound. When he moved to the UK, he had to leave that band, but his path converged with the other members of A Fool’s Mockery. Now, this is a new era for him and the band, with their first release. I don’t know exactly how they ending up meeting each other but my advice to you is that, after listening to “Empire Of Doubt” for the first time is not to expect immature music and performance just because it is a debut album. I don’t know their ages, but they are young as a band, however, this is a very mature album. So, let’s understand what it has offer to us, the listeners.
Opening track, ‘The Great Lie’, shows what I consider to be a mix of Classic Heavy Rock (Deep Purple) with Power Metal elements such as the fast drum fills and Emmanuel’s vocals interpretations. The presence of Jase Tyler’s keyboards is another element that navigates between Classic and the more Melodic Power Metal style. By the way, Jase is also the man who holds the drumsticks in the band (at least, in the studio) and I must highlight how astonishing he is on both instruments. Next track, ‘Let The Truth Be Known’ keeps the happy spirit of the band’s sonority and, once again, the keyboards are very present. In this song, the bass of Scott Gurnett also has a strong presence, considering there are almost no guitars, just short and good solos.
I guess the dramatic change of the album’s sonority happens on ‘Enter The New’ where progressive elements take over. If before, I felt a balance between Classic Rock and Power Metal, this time I could feel the influence of bands such as Rush and Dream Theater. This makes it sound a little less Metal and Rock and, as I’m not the biggest fan of Progressive Metal, I started off worried but, in this instance, I absolute love the end result.
As with most material labelled ‘progressive’, you get extensive songs, such as the beautiful ‘The Heretic’ and the eighteen minute long ‘Cardinal Sinner’. The former I loved because it has a lot of different cadences and moments. It is the best time to check out the versatile riffs of guitarist Eddy Bleasdale and, once again, there are excellent independent bass lines from Scott Gurnett. What I admire here is how the band maintain a smooth atmosphere even when things become heavy!
The instrumental ‘Much’ has the same spirit, but with more space for kick ass drum work, even showcasing some blues influence. However, we still have space for heavier stuff such as ‘Wrath Of The Divine’ or the more ballad driven, in a very good Deep Purple way, ‘Plea for Forgiveness’. To epically finish the album, the band present ‘Legacy’ which includes great orchestration. Emmanuel’s beautiful vocal interpretation together with Jase, Eddy and Scott show how incredible they are on their instruments, without creating music full of annoying and over the top virtuosity.
Despite “Empire Of Doubt” being a debut album, it is wonderful how they have worked so hard to create great material. The main goal, at least for me, is how they found a way to mix different genres, that on their own, may be considered a little boring for those of us not fans of them but, in this case, sounded cool and the listening experience became incredibly enjoyable. This album is 63 minutes long, but it certainly doesn’t feel like it.
If you are fan of Rock/Progressive bands like Rush and Deep Purple but like something a little more Metal, or love Progressive Heavy Metal but miss the simplicity of Rock then I am certain that you will love and admire how A Fool’s Mockery have combined the best of these two worlds.
‘The Great Lie’ (Official Video)
TRACKLISTING:
01. The Great Lie
02. Let the Truth Be Known
03. Enter The New
04. The Heretic
05. Much (Instrumental)
06. Wrath Of The Divine
07. Plea For Forgiveness
08. Cardinal Sinner
09. Legacy
LINE-UP:
Emannuel Thorsen – Vocals
Jase Tyler – Drums, Keyboards, Percussion
Eddy Bleasdale – Guitars
Scott Gurnett – Bass
LINKS:
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