Death is June- Phobetor : " A Solitary Vigil"

It seems I have kept most blackened death metal out of the conversation this year. Perhaps not by mistake as it tends to fall predictably on either side of the fence. This album is worth inviting in. I like the haunting guitar melodies that paint the background of the title track that opens this one. The scathing scowl of the vocals is typically more of a mid-range snarl with lower death metal accents. The guitars and drive of the song are the death metal part of the equation.

 Clean guitar provides the calm before the storm as they rage into a sonically in-your-face sweeping charge of sound. It took a second listen for it to really click with me, as there are some subtle elements to this. The drums are not one of them, as they come crashing at you like a hurricane. The burly bass giving "Fading Black Winter" its backbone helps anchor it in a more Entombed-like corner of death metal. "The Vacant Worlds Within Us" roars out from the previous song. It works off a more tremolo-picked guitar line, and the drums slow down to indulge the band in a more desolate mood. They do not sprawl out and overindulge themselves keeping the songs forever wearing out their welcome.

There is some atmospheric dissonance with the last song, which keeps things interesting, as the vocals maintain the vocal scowl that has dominated this album. They strap you in and take you on their ride with this bone crusher of a closer, which finds them really capturing a nice balance of what they do as a band on this song. I will give this one a 9 and see how it sits with me. Heavy but with enough darker mood to keep the death metal aggresion interesting. 

4.7

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