Georgia quintet
Mourningstar's debut album starts with "A Thrash in the Antebellum," a two-minute intro of ghostly keyboards, low wordless vocals, and mounting tension that sounds exactly like one of those European goth-metal bands' quieter moments. Unexpectedly, this leads directly into "Leviathan" and
Mourningstar's true aim is revealed:
The Antioch belongs to the proggy (as opposed to the poppy) end of emo, with singer Josh Frederick delivering inscrutably pretentious lyrics about religion and society with vocals that range from the standard-issue screamo bark to the equally standard-issue and blandly angsty alt-rock bellow. Frederick is clearly the band's weak link, since guitarists
Dave Gossett and
Jason Frederick manage to deliver a fairly decent blend of aggressive riffing and atmospheric interludes that in the context of a more interesting singer and lyricist would be a lot more interesting than
The Antioch turns out to be.