The municipality of Kirchanschöring in Bavaria, Germany, is home to a one man band called PATH 11 and it is helmed by GroliGMaddox, who was part of a Black Metal band called, EDGE OF NIGHT, with guitarist Andreas .L and Oliver G. In the year 2010, he embarks to form this unique band named after a song of his previous band. His original idea was to make music that had elements of Grindcore, Black Metal with Progressive Acoustic bits. In 2011, after naming the band PATH 11, the debut album    "Höhle des Grauens" is released where the talented artist plays all the instruments. The songs of the album mainly deal with serial killers and their lives. In the year 2012, the band performs a string of live dates in Salzburg and other surrounding places. The songs in this album are influenced by bands like OPETH and SHINING. One of the reasons for the name of the band is because GroliGMaddox has a mystical connection to the number 11. GroliGMaddox has since said that he always wanted to do music on his own and that just being a singer limits the control that he has over the output of the band and the musical direction. As with his previous band, friend and long time collaborator Stefan Traunmuller has produced the album. For the live shows that he performs, he enlists the help of band mates from his other outfit as well as the producer, who plays bass for the band.

"A New Direction Of Life" begins almost as a conversation between acoustic picking and furious power chords, officiated by a raspy guttural lead vocalist. It seems a tad out of time in places and is shadowed by haunting backing vocals. Almost as soon as the song puts you in a stupor, a heavy riff and rapid drumming wakes you up to the upbeat melody. The song then changes gear and switches from acoustic parts to Death Metal riffs almost at will. Clocking just under 10 minutes, it traipses away from the path and is almost unrecognizable by the time it ends.

"The End Is The Beginning", the second track, is an even longer track, clocking just under 15 minutes in runtime and starts off somewhat soothingly with an  acoustic melody. After about a minute into the song an almost punk-ish melody breaks out with a haunting lead and gravelly vocals ably held up by a decent bass hook. As with the first song , the melody of the song snakes and twists its way through several emotions before its ultimate demise.

"Living For You Means My Death" starts of with a straight up Death Metal riff and is another one of the long songs that the album boasts of. The song is gloomy and is punctuated by acoustic bits.

The first thing that struck me as I was listening to this album that there are so many melodies crammed in to the tracks and that it does not prescribe to one genre or the other, which is like a breath of fresh air to the Metal community in general. The songs have Thrash Metal riffs, Death Metal growling, Punk chord progressions, and demonic whisperings set to acoustic guitar melodies. There are also influences of Grindcore music in the tracks. The music reeks with evil and desperation and the melodies are clever. There are places that one would feel a little overwhelmed by the meandering melodies, but the song always finds ways to pull the listener back on path. This is one of those albums that will reveal new gems or slick guitar work on subsequent listens. This is a good album with innovative melodies, almost avant-garde in nature. Worth a couple of listens for sure.<