Black History Month- Merrimack : "Of Grace and Gravity"

 

The last album we reviewed by these guys was back in 2012. For a French band, they are less experimental and more in your face with a second wave of raw ripping anger, that has not mellowed with age. The second song has a more deliberate throbbing, but they are never far from lashing out with a blast beat. There is more nuance, and the creeping hints of eerie melody continue to haunt their sound. This darker sense of melody is laced with even more sinister intentions with "Dead and Distant Clamors". More of a waltz runs through the heart of the song. This allows a romantic darkness to emanate from the song.

It is not a mystery that six albums into their career they are going to have the sound they want nailed down. The guitar melody that slithers through "Wounds That Heal' shows they have fine tuned their songwriting prowess over the years. The more venomous sonic battery they are prone to accelerate things into generally works, but I can not help but feel at this point with any black metal band it has grown obligatory. Here is the tug of war most metal bands find themselves in no matter the sub-genre, to be true to the cultish adoration of these sounds birthed from nostalgia or strike out into new places? They play it a little safe, which is what most black metal bands seem to be doing these days. Sure there is an excursion into almost doomy passages on this song, but that is still not far removed from where they were already heading. It does paint a nice backdrop for the guitar solo to drop into. 

I think where they really excel as a band is when they strike off into even deeper darkness on "Starving Crowns". Sure the bulk of the song might be devoid of blast beats, but I think the willingness to do something different should be at the heart of all black metal rather than conforming to tradition. When they do go into a blast beat it works better because there are dynamics at play. They are back to blasting basics on 'Under the Aimless Spheres".The last song has more of a sonic ring to it which is more interesting than just playing heavy metal. Arrangement-wise however it works off more of a drone, before going into the obligatory blast. I will give this album an 8.5, fans of the band should be pleased as they continue to bring the kind of fury they are hoping for, 

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