Story Of Jade
The Damned Next Door(know thy neighbors!!)

Funny what comes up if you use an internet search engine and type in the phrase Story of Jade, funny what you can learn from the interweb. Jade is a type of mineral, a silicate that is either Neprite or Tremolite in kind which primary use is for different kinds of ornaments. If you add a story of this mineral you will notice that it becomes an italian rock band, or horror metal band as they are generally marketed and how they look. They think you should know your neighbour and warns of the damned next door or something in that fashion. This album is their debut album which has been well received in the internet reviewing media with ratings around four of five and something equal of those who apply a different ratings scale. Sure, we all know that most reviewers on the internet are very generous with their ratings but to say that the album at least is good should be a safe bet.

Musically it is what is called thrashcore, or modern thrash as some would say, bands like Exodus are mentioned and as is chilean band Criminal in different reviews around the web. It is energetic and quite aggressive but yet decently melodic and catchy, horror metal is a label given to this band although I would say that the horror bit would mainly apply to image more than what we hear. The vocals are harsh and mostly croaking but there is some cleanish vocals as well just to add variation, speaking of which, variation that is, it is not something that is in excess on this album’s 47 minutes and eleven tracks which ends in this bloody cage.

I would say that this is a quite good album, not brilliant or fantastic but it is good and well made on all accounts with good sound and nice feel. The vocals feels a bit like a weak point as they are one reason for the album feeling a bit unvaried. I still think though that despite the little unvaried character of the album, it is quite entertaining to listen to it, the video is a little fun testament to the band’s character as well. Decent imagination and good quality music, it is something for a fan of this kind of music to enjoy.

So, in the end it is not a question of mineralogy, but rather horror which goes to show that things are not always as you believe them to be. That can clearly be shown by the web search I begun with, but Jade can be other thing so the story of Jade might be about a person, maybe the one in the mirror, or the damned neighbour, who knows? At least it is fun to think of it, and if you find the album being a bit stagnant for a while maybe you should look into the film that you easily find posters for if you search the band name. I on the other hand is not fan of films with that kind of poster so I think I’ll look elsewhere for my movie entertainment but at times this album might be good for my musical entertainment. I can state that I think that Story of Jade’s debut album is good and I can recommend it for anyone who like thrash metal or horror metal. On my part though I would say that it is a little bit too unvaried to really shine.