This Canadian band upholds what seems to be the trend this year with death metal, which is a return to the cold, dark, cavernous ways of old. The opening track reminds me a little of Unleashed's first album. The vocal tones trade off a little midway in with the predominant gurgle giving way to a higher, more pained rasp. The main riff of this song buzzes with a tremolo-picked tension, though the digs in deeper with thrash-glazed grooves as the song progresses. Unlike many heavier bands who stun you with the sheer weight and magnitude of their sound, so that you forget to ask if they can write a song, these guys assure you they can. This leaves the only question for the rest of the album to follow, being how dynamic said songs will be?
"Ombre Hantant..." is more deliberate in its darkness at first before picking up the pace to what is expected for the genre. The drummer is great, but you have to be to play death metal. There is a little more hook in the galloping riff that seems like it's the song's backbone. This shifts into a hookier chug by the end. This song that follows this descends into a more malevolent storm of sound. There is a more angular prog thrash riff that possesses things. This is the first hint of Morbid Angel influence I have detected thus far. "Dendrites" might be one of the best songs on the album as it grooves the most, making it capable of inducing headbanging.
Like most death metal bands, groove goes further than senseless battery or uncontrolled bursts of speed; these guys generally use restraint in this regard. Sometimes the low growl of the vocals carried more intent than others, often just becoming a haunting texture. This remains their only weakness when you consider the greatest death metal bands of all have vocals that are crucial components of the overall songwriting, just as any other style of music. This leaves more responsibility on the shoulder straps of the guitars. "Zisurrfu" shows what this looks like in action, with the double bass doubling down on these efforts. Not the most original thing I have heard, but effective at what they are going for.
The title track closes the album. This finds the drums hammering down with more determination, before they find a little more groove. The punches make it feel like slower Deicide. Though they do speed things up to try and prove this theory wrong. I will give this album an 8, it's dark, dense, and a solid slab of sound that hits you hard which is what fans of this style of death metal want and it delivers.
No comments:
Post a Comment