Promises - In The Pharmacy
Metal Breath Production

file under alternative / pop

Vera: A CD of a Czech band can be sure of a heartfelt welcome since that country only evokes positive vibrations because of the several holidays I spent there. But they should not drive it too far; in the biography they talk about doom metal, but I cannot find any doom metal on ‘In The Pharmacy’. It does not mean that it is a disappointment; it only indicates that Promises should focus on an alternative rock scene. They will be more successful in that segment than they are in a doom metal crowd.

Since 1994 the band released a few demos and ‘In The Pharmacy’ is their debut album. It is rather short with its thirty-eight minutes of length, but enough to get a general impression of their sound. Vocals of Viktor Svoboda mostly determinate the global sound of Promises. His clean, yet raucous vocals are responsible for this alternative penchant. We hear lashings of heavy riffs, guitar skills are more than average in most of the songs and the songs are quite brief (not a quality of doom metal either).

In a song like ‘Sanitas Animae’ Promises reminded me a bit of Placebo, but influences of R.E.M., 3 Doors Down or modern emotive bands with heavy guitar riffs in this alternative circuit crossed my mind when listening to ‘In The Pharmacy’. Surely not bad at all and even during the quite chaotic ‘Sparrow Feathers’ they remain quite intriguing. Vocals are sometimes too dominant, but in instrumental passages of songs like ‘Beyond The Circles’ they sound quite seminal. For the time being not an essential album, but something good can come out in future.

Rating 76/100 (details)

http://www.promises.cz