Reviews:
(Reviewed by Eddie Risdal in 1/1/2007)
"This is a Greek demo band, and judging by these three tracks they shouldn't be that for much longer time.
My first impression of the opener "The Deepest Journey" was that they had a tad of oldschool Norwegian black metal vibe, not too far from what we hear on the first ULVER release. But this changes quite much when we get to next song, "The Darkest Journey", which starts more doomy, with clean vocals, before we are back on track with more blast beats almost halfway through the song. The last song is the long instrumental "The Longest Journey" (As far as I know it has nothing to do with the Norwegian computer game with the same name) and here I get a deja-vu on the American folk/doomers AGALLOCH, really wonderful song with melancholic lead and acoustic guitars.
I would really like to hear a full album from this Greek trio, and that they get a full line-up soon. Guest musicians Haris on bass and Sofiris (The latter from the well known band Varathron) does an exellent job, so let's hope NO HAND PATH can find permanent members of equal standard."
METAL NORGE webzine (NORWAY)
(thanx to Anders for the translation)
"No Hand Path
"First Farewell", Album
(Self Production 2006)
Progressive blackmetal with some doom
Playtime: 22:13
7.5/10
The fact that greeks read our page and understand norwegian well enough to submit records is absolutely an amusing indicator that Metal Norge stretches well beyond the borders of the country. Without any company and with very little experience with metal, No Hand Path have recorded 3 songs that they want to share with us. The product has become very exciting indeed.
Black metal has reached far. Our friends in No Hand Path (most likely a clever play-on-words on Entombed's classic "Left Hand Path") play blackmetal at approximately in the middle of our beloved Taake and Khold, but they stretch their awareness of the genre into the more progressive of deathmetal with a slight turn into quality doom. In the contrast between the heavily brutal and the slowly melodical,the greeks give me a very good hint towards the irish Primordial, who know how to mix gloom moods and heavy brutality. So what do we end up with? Progressive deathblackmetal with elements of doom? It may sound like a mess, but No Hand Path manage to keep these parts neatly seperated and even if the songs last for at least six minutes they definitely keep up the suspense.
The vocalist Ramin is clearly the strength of this band. When he screams and yells bad words he twists his voice in a delightful way, sort of like Nattefrost on a good day. To contrast this he also has control over a lamenting, narrative, deep, clean voice which is the way we want it in doom-metal. The only problem is that his pronunciation and the power of his voice is slightly reduced when the rest of the band take their songs down to the pure guitar level. Apart from this, his voice carries far and deep. This being a self production, it goes without saying that the sound perhaps isn't clear and brilliant, but I have to take this in favour of the band and say that a really dirty sound fits perfectly to the mood this band creates. Drums keeping in the background and guitars that make a lot of noise and grind gives me the feeling of true musical joy where you don't need fancy equipment or have to spend a lot of money on production.
With three songs with reasonably similar names (The Deepest Journey, The Darkest Journey and The Longest Journey ) it's clear that it's meant to be a sort of correlation between the tracks, both lyrically and holisticly. Each song is structured similarly, hard parts are interrupted by more calm and pure guitarparts, and then it starts to speed up again towards the end. Guitareffects help to vary and I'd specially like to emphasize the end of " The Darkest Journey" as a highpoint. This one also slides delisciously further to the last track "The Longest Journey", which has one of the greatest doom-introes I've heard in a long long time. Acoustic strumming of the guitar in beautiful harmonies build up with more and more drums and guitar (like Primordial often do) over into a slow, heavy tempo which you can just close your eyes and enjoy with your entire soul. This track is instrumental and this choice is totally right of the band, to put vocals on something so perfect would be seriously detrimental. The whole song in itself ends up in a beautiful borderland between lovely floating post-rock and creative metal, something we luckily see a lot of many different places nowadays.
You should definitely watch out for No Hand Path in the future. With such a creative sound and sparkling song-writing qualities there has to be a contract in their way and hopefully an album in not too long a while. This is material which appeals to a large segment of the metalscene. Absolutely amongst this years positive surprises. You can listen to all of their songs and download them on the bands homepage."
HELLENIC METAL webzine (GREECE)
"No Hand Path was formed in early 2006. In the summer of 2006 they recorded already their first work, the demo First Farewell. It sounds that the juvenile age pushed the band to record its first work, so I expected that I would listen to an amateurish demo with simple songwriting and bad sound. But the exact opposite is the truth. On the three songs of the demo, the band takes us to a travel far away, into the dark shores of Black Metal. The song titles fit, the songs? names are The Deepest Journey, The Darkest Journey and The Longest Journey. All three songs are long in duration and paint a dark and depressive picture, due to the sophisticated songwriting of the band, which combines fast Black Metal with calm and very opressive acoustic elements. I have to think of Satyricon?s masterpiece Rebel Extravaganza, as I?m listening to the demo. It?s not easy to create a dark atmosphere without the use of keyboards, but No Hand Path does not seem to have a problem with that. Their only tools are the riffing, the drumming and the vocals, but with these spare ingredients they manage to create a gloomy atmosphere and a dark mood. Such a professional release is very rare, compared to other demo debuts of other bands. The sound is brilliant for a demo, every instrument sounds crystal clear. No Hand Path doesn?t invent something new with First Farewell, but the band took the already existing musical facts of the Black Metal scene and created a demo which simply sounds better than many other releases of the stagnating scene! Visit the band?s homepage and get the demo online, as long as this is possible!"
ETERNAL TERROR webzine (NORWAY)
(thanx to Anders for the translation)
"The pressrelease that comes with the demo is handwritten in surprisingly good english for the band to come from Greece, and it says that the band was formed in early 2006, the demo was released in July and the permanent members of the group Ramin on vocals, Vassilis on guitar and Antonis who also plays the guitar have never played in a metal band before! They have recorded the demo with the help of two friends on bass and drums.
Here my doubts begin to come. How many bands do I really like that come from Greece? How many good songs have I heard of bands who have played metal for a few months? Why me? All my prejudice and negative thoughts were blown away when I finally collected my courage and pressed play. This is music I can like. Exciting, varied, melodic and some times melancholic. Their main emphasis is on blackmetal, but they have by no means locked themselves in the genre. There is lots of deathmetal and other spicy stuff here too. The three songs are approximately 8, 6 and 8 minutes and crammed full of variation and earcandy. The tempo varies constantly and precisely without it becoming annoying or tiresome. The opening of the record is a fast drumroll before the riffs break loose, and here is the only negative thing on the record, which is all too obvious: The drummer doesn't know at all if he's playing death- or blackmetal! From the first second he's hanging behind and he has to catch up several times. Luckily he will be replaced by a permanent member soon, because this gang deserves a talented drummer and a record contract now! I want more! Check this out: The vocal is surprisingly good for someone so inexperienced, it shifts beautifully between cold screams to blastbeats to pure song to the more doom inspired parts. The guitar-riffs are so raw that I'm sitting with the feeling that this is something that Edge of Sanity and Dan Swan? could have put together in their days of glory. Suddenly everything stops without warning and we are being served an acoustic outro on the second tune which is so melancholic that you just have to run to your doctor and get a prescription of prozak right away! My overall impression excedes my wettest dreams and the production received more than a passing grade.
I've got myself some new heroes. They're called No Hand Path and they're from Greece!
A curious thing is that Antonis who sent this, is currently an exchange student at the university in Trondheim."
METAL INVADER webzine (GREECE)
"In the last couple of months I have something against the majority of black metal releases. They're predictable and follow the same pattern. The same boring DARKTHRONE- or BURZUM-imitating pattern. So, this demo from NO HAND PATH was a pleasant surprise for my ears. These guys from Patra, Greece have it and they're not afraid to enrich their black metal with other things, not complex stuff, just things that show people who love music in general and don't want a label stuck on them. They play in different speeds and can combine blastbeats with doomy atmospheres and acoustic moments in the same song. There are some epic passages a-la HORNA as well, which I totally loved. Hailz to the singer who uses some clean vocals next to the typical black metal gargling. I would say that NO HAND PATH follow the road of "chill-out" black metal masters SHINING and that's something that requires extra talent and inspiration and this band seems to have both. The production is fine and the songs are very well executed, given the contribution of members of REVOLTING BREED and VARATHRON in this demo. Add some decent artwork and the clever idea to include the word "journey" in every song-title and you get the whole picture. This shit is very good (perhaps too good) for a demo release and shall make all fans of underground black metal scene optimistic and ready for more. I did receive the booklet and the inlay together with the disc but I didn't receive a jewel case. The fact I'm giving this demo a jewel case and I'm putting it between my purchased items says a lot more than you think.
Reviewer: Vaggelis Evaggelou
Rating: 5/6"
POWERPLAY magazine (UNITED KINGDOM)
"I don�t know why but something about the packaging of this release made me think it was going to be some horrendous metalcore. So it was a blessed relief to find opening track �The Deepest Journey� immersing me in some icy black metal, delivered with real class and quality. Despite this only being a demo release the band have captured a really strong sound with a nice tone to all the instruments and there is some definite depth and thought to their composition.
The second of the three tracks here, �The Darkest Journey�, opens with a lengthy, doom-laden introduction which serves to heighten the adrenalin rush of the blistering pace which follows. It also demonstrates an adventurous spirit that will serve the band well in future. Things are brought to a suitably climactic ending by �The Longest Journey�, a grand instrumental that builds from a sublime acoustic intro and is beautifully paced and controlled with some really emotive guitar lines.
It�s a real treat to find a little gem like this, especially when I had been expecting so little. This is the sort of find that makes wading through all those metalcore albums worthwhile. No Hand Path are a talented young band with the potential to produce some truly exciting music.
POWERPOINTS: 8
8+ Summary:
This may only be a three track demo from young Greek band No Hand Path but there�s enough quality on display here to merit immediate investigation. Dark/Black metal with depth and vision � not to mention great potential.
CHRIS KEE"
SHRUNKEN AND MUMMIFIED fanzine (HUNGARY)
"Many times have I prepared for this review, I listened to this 3-song CD- R a lot, somehow I was always interrupted and I had to cancel writing these lines. Now it is here and I can tell you for sure that I am 100% familiar with the production of this Greek band by now. What struck my ears was even at the first listening is the beautiful sound they have. It is a professional work, and I liked especially the drumsound: the snaredrum, the toms and the crash cymbals have an enchanting sound, but there shouldn?t be complaints about the guitars, which buzzes raw and extremely clear at the same time. They are in some melodious way at times, but can be fast and cruel when it is needed. Black Metal is the name of the style, performed by a definitely skilled, experienced musicianship. The vocals are also on this vein, but beside the shrieks we can meet some clear (I have to say very unique) voices as well. The stuff is divided into three journeys: the deepest, the darkest and the longest, from which these last one is the slowest and is an instrumental piece with even acoustics into it. I have no idea whether the band's aim is to find a label with this demo (or whether they have already had one), but it cannot be dificult to get some one to release a full-lenght of them on the basis of this professionality. Till we get further news concerning this, it is highly recommended to listen to this present stuff (coming with a simple but info-filled pro-printed booklet), so here is the address by which you can get in touch with them. NO HAND PATH: Ramin, 29 Amerikis, 26442 Patra, GREECE. [email protected]"
BLOOD OF THE ANCIENT fanzine (GERMANY)
"Wow, what a fine surprise! At first I expected not too much from this CD due to the simple, rather unspectacular layout of the CD, the primitive logo as well as the fact that NO HAND PATH is quite a new band having been formed in 2005 by Antonis (guitar), Vasilis (guitar) and Ramin (vocals). For this MCD Haris (drums) and Sotiris (bass) of mighty VARATHRON and REVOLTING BREED helped out as well. All I can tell you is that `First Farewell` definitely sounds like a product of a mature, good band that tries to achieve an own, unique sound that ranges from lethal Black Metal aggression inspired by early Greek heroes such as i.e. ROTTING CHRIST, ZEMIAL or the above mentioned VARATHRON to melancholically dark, majestic and atmospheric counterparts that are mainly dominated by Ramin`s clear voice. All in all the three songs featured here are definitely worth to be checked out and I`m really curious about future releases of this hopeful newcomer in ancient Greek`s underground realms! Without any doubt, NO HAND PATH already in this early state of its career can offer us extremely varied and unique, dark and occult Metal, so check this promising MCD out! Just get in touch with Ramin, Amerikis 29, 26442 Patra, Greece. Email: [email protected]
CHRISTIAN WACHTER"
PUTREFACTIVE EFFECT zine (FRANCE)
"My first listening of NO HAND PATH blew me away. It�s damned well produced for a demo! Then the whole atmosphere caught my attention. Many feelings crossed my spirit as darkness, coldness, despair, sorrow, hate� Really different from the usual stuff I listen, but I must admit this is really good work and I like it very much.
OK now I try to describe NO HAND PATH music and believe me it�s fucking hard! There is a black metal basis with fast parts and typical catchy riffs mixed with arpeggios which gives the coldness I referred to above and this remind me some IMMORTAL and FORGOTTEN TOMB stuff. I really glad to hear a band like this, black metal influenced, but which is trying to play something different and personal and is definitively not another boring BLASPHEMY/BEHERIT clone. NO HAND PATH also uses good arrangements to avoid the flat black metal style with breaks, doomy parts or clear vocals. Another main point from NO HAND PATH is the drummer Haris (from VARATHRON) who delivers a creative and technical performance! I would dare to say NO HAND PATH is a progressive black/dark metal band that can please fans of OPETH, NECROMANTIA or DEATHSPELL OMEGA; bands that doesn�t restrict themselves. Sombrely promising. "
IN EXTREMIS newsletter (FRANCE)
(thanx to Mathilde for the translation)
"With this first demo we discover No Hand Path, a young greek trio. When people think about black greek metal, the prestigious name of Rotting Christ inevitably comes to mind. So No Hand Path obviously takes inspiration from them but not too much though. A strong personality emerges from their 3 compositions. Just listen to the truly superb interlude in the middle of "Deepest Journey", a real model with its trembling strings (is it a bouzouki (????) that we can hear?). But the first weapon of this band is this big amount of riffs repeated at aeternam as Katatonia/Opeth do, real hypnotical power which acts has the effect of a magnet.
The 2nd title "Darkest Journey" begins very softly with clear voices, whisperings and dark riffs, and then, after 2 minutes, speeds up with dark metal and freezing atmospheres. Epic riff, voice perfectly scratched, the bass player will have the privilege to end up the song. "Longest journey" is instrumental: acoustic guitar, depressive riffs like always, bewitched melodies; No Hand Path gives us there another long song but never boring though. They have the art of taking their time without never getting us bored. Note that guests like members of Varathon and Revolting Breed helped this young band (which was created last year). Every fan of black-atmo should keep an eye on them !
Rating: 3/5"
KLASMA zine (GERMANY)
(Rough translation)
"A brand-new band hailing from Greece present its first stuff with �First farewell". With the help of two members of Varathron (drummer Haris und bass player Sotiris), Ramin on vocals and the guitarists Vassilis and Antonis made a three-track-demo. Due to the running time you can easily calculate that NO HAND PATH don�t drop any fast breakers, and it is not dealing with Grindcore. Progressive Death Metal? Wrong guessed. Doom? Ambient? No, NO HAND PATH are into Black Metal with a lot of atmosphere. The tracks are called �The deepest journey", �The darkest journey" and �The longest journey", which makes this band even more unordinary. The Black Metal of the Greeks is basically influenced by the �old school". The first song starts tyically with thrusting drums, icy chainsaw guitars and vocals filled with hatred. And then comes a calm acoustic interlude (a.o. with mandolin(?) tunes), which is yet sounding pleasingly. But after this, in a midtempo part, Ramin sings with a strange sounding clear voice, more fitting to an Alternative band. Finally the song gets heavily into Black Metal again. Song #2 starts very plangent, again with this unfitting voice, but more sounding conjuring here. After two minutes Black Metal comes out again to slit some skulls for minutes. �The longest journey" is a acoustic track, concerning the mood a ballad without vocals for eight minutes actually. It�s slighty Rock-touched, with much acoustic riffing in a very calmed, chilled atmosphere. For a first step this �First farewell" is not that bad, I can say. Even technically NO HAND PATH are on top. But, in my mind, some conflicting parts of the songwriting, the blatant contrasts, are deranging, and some junction could be more fluent in future."
ELECTRIC REQUIEM webzine (GREECE) (link to website, review in greek)