Quinta Essentia : "Initiates Of The Great Work"

At first the dark thrash of this Alabama band holds some impressive menace , this is a little deceptive in regards to what they sound like for the duration of the album. It is clear that they have an ear for melody, even amid the razor attack of guitar. The songs often throb like some of Slayer's more introspective moments. The vocals have more of a death metal snarl to them. If you really want to dissect these guys you could even call them blackened death metal. You can tell not only do they put a lot of thought into the guitar solos, but it's obviously the part of the song they are looking forward to the most.  Death metal proves to be one of the colors they paint the songs in on "the Stone as a Key" which also features a burst of clean vocals that are well sung. They are belted out in a power metal like baritone. Clean vocals are more dominant on "Flight Without Form". The guitar playing continues to dazzle it seem like each song is loaded down with more solos than the song before.But if you took the riff rule we have here..."cool riffs alone, do not make a good song" and multiplied it by five them you would know how much I value guitar solos. I want to know you are able to pull out the chops, but if that is all you have then it is just wanking.

Here the line between wanking and being a serious metal band finds it self at a cross roads that leaves it's fate in the hands of "Master of Masters". It proves to be rather shadowy melodic death metal. Nothing special, but well executed."Aside from the more snarled vocals "Mystical Union" falls in line with a more conventional approach to metal. "Lunar Power" is the best song on the album thus far , even though it abandons the growling for a more power metal like sung vocal. Things slow down and get darker.The guitar solos fall over a section that is a little Iron Maiden like. This is followed by an instrumental that is just an excuse to showcase guitar solos, and doesn't come across as heavy at all, but rather masturbatory. The title track follows a more Opeth like formula, leading off with a more death metal gallop and falling into a melodic sung chorus. While the guitarists can let loose when it gets time to follow, they take much fewer risks when it comes to employing any kind of off time riffing. They lyrics are spit out a little awkwardly. "the Elixir of Liberation" is more of a standard death metal fare. At four minutes there is not a lot of ground to be covered when they bathe the middle of the song in a guitar solo. Not one but two guitar solos take up almost half of the song. I'll round this album down to an 8 since the emphasis is so clearly guitar solos. They pay homage to classic metal so fans of darker thrash from the 80s while find plenty to head bang to on this one. One of those times when it I was going to need something like this in my iPod I would go download Dark Angel, which sounds like a good idea right about now. Deathgasm is releasing this July 29th.

6.7