Iapetus – The Body Cosmic (Review)

This is the second album from Iapetus, a progressive death metal band from the US.

2017’s The Long Road Home impressed with its colossal take on atmospheric, progressive, melodic death metal. Now, in 2019, the band have returned with an even more professional delivery and production, one which features the percussive skill of the drummer of Ne Obliviscaris too. As for the music? Well, it’s simply breathtakingly good.

Yes, returning with 70 minutes of new material, The Body Cosmic is actually even more impressive than its predecessor, if such a thing is possible. This is a feast for the ears, and fans of progressive melodic extremity would do well to listen and absorb this at their earliest convenience. Packed with infectious riffs, moreish melodies, and the sort of progressive scope that many bands would kill for, these new songs really are the height of what the band have produced so far.

The band’s new production team has done wonders with the material, and The Body Cosmic is truly allowed to properly show what it can do because of this. This album is the cinematic equivalent of a high-budget sci-fi epic, but with the heart and depth of a good novel; Iapetus may know how to deal in instant gratification and impressively shiny structures, but they also know how to craft music that has depth and longevity. This is a great combination, and one that helps The Body Cosmic ascend to the heavens.

Bigger, bolder, better, but also more expansive, experimental, ambitious, and atmospheric, Iapetus seem to have somehow hit upon some form of magic formula for writing music that hits you from multiple angles. Hard. This comes across as a cohesive and well-composed assault, however, and ever seems disjointed or ill-informed. This is music that’s clearly been thought about at the cellular level, and developed and delivered accordingly.

The music is warm and textured, layered with a variety of sounds and instruments. The lead vocals are sharp and aggressive, and female clean singing enhances everything wonderfully when it appears. It’s hard to do justice to music as multifaceted and beautifully composed as this, so I urge you to simply listen to the album and lose yourself in its songs.

A lot of hard work, effort, and sacrifice has gone into both this album and the band in general, but the results speak for themselves. The Body Cosmic absolutely deserves an abundance of plaudits and much exposure. This is essential listening, and I can’t recommend it highly enough.