Soul Remnants are a death metal band from the US and this is their fourth album.
Following on from 2013’s Black and Blood and 2017’s Ouroboros, Soul Remnants have now returned with their longest album to date – 50 minutes of new material. If you’re unfamiliar with the band, a mix of old The Haunted and Hypocrisy, (with the occasional dash of Kataklysm and Amon Amarth), is a decent enough starting point to gain an initial idea of how their music roughly sounds, (although this is by no means a comprehensive description).
The death metal of Soul Remnants is dark and melodic, and has a good grasp of the style and its strengths. The songs are well-written and deliver the goods with meaty riffs, (so many riffs!), and compelling melodies. I particularly like many of the solos, and especially enjoy how the band have linked these to what the rhythm guitar and the rest of the music is doing.
One of the things I like about Soul Remnants is that their music isn’t afraid to stray into other genres here and there; thrash is the obvious, most readily apparent one, but black and progressive metal elements can be found here too if you know where to look. Of the thrash influence, this is infused into a large amount of what the band do, resulting in some killer riffs and dynamics that elevate the songs considerably.
Raising the Sacrificial Dagger is another solid entry into the Soul Remnants discography. This is a satisfying and enjoyable listen, and I’d recommend it for anyone who is a fan of melodic death metal.
Wonderbox Metal 