Ophidian Spell are a symphonic/melodic death metal band from France and this is their debut album.
Combining aspects of melodic, progressive and symphonic death metal into their delivery, Ophidian Spell offer up the listener a modern blend of these various influences. I can hear aspects of The Faceless, Devin Townsend, In Flames, Emperor/Ihsahn, Ne Obliviscaris, Delain and Septic Flesh in the mix, along with some others. Continue reading “Ophidian Spell – Nux/Hêmera (Review)”
Ulcerate are a death metal band from New Zealand and this is their fifth album.
Ulcerate personify atypical progressive/technical death metal. They incorporate enough other styles and influences to be termed post-death metal in some respects, although they still have the requisite amount of aggression Continue reading “Ulcerate – Shrines of Paralysis (Review)”
Inanimate Existence are a US death metal band and this is their third album.
Starting off softly, with ambient sounds and female vocals, this album is a different beast to the band’s last album A Never Ending Cycle of Atonement. Sure, the band haven’t completely changed, but they’ve definitely progressed a significant amount.
So if you take their Continue reading “Inanimate Existence – Calling from a Dream (Review)”
Axxen Conners are a progressive death metal band from Turkey. This is their debut EP.
This short, sub-13 minute EP is an interesting listen. Professionally recorded with a solid sound, the band effectively showcase their metal vision.
The band play a sort of death metal that has a progressive/melodic edge, with elements of black metal stirred into Continue reading “Axxen Conners – Nowhere to Escape Sins (Review)”
This is the debut album from Archetype, a Canadian progressive death metal band.
This is a progressive mixture of death and thrash metal that’s not short on confidence or character. Or, for that matter, a rather insane delivery style.
The songs have a decent mixture of aggressive thrash metal, (with a kind of German, Destruction/Kreator feel), and melodic death metal, (Carcass/Arsis), mixed in with more technical and progressive tendencies that see the band producing Continue reading “Archetype – Mission (Review)”
Denominate are from Finland and play death metal. This is their debut album.
Here we have 43 minutes of progressive/technical death metal. Take some Carcass/Death influences and mix with something like Vital Remains…are you interested yet? You should be…
Denominate have a decent production that lends them a satisfying sound. The music itself is skilfully played with no lack of talent. Continue reading “Denominate – Those Who Beheld the End (Review)”
Fallujah are from the US and this is their third album of progressive death metal.
Fallujah are one of the more interesting and individual bands out there. Their previous album The Flesh Prevails was an exceptional release that really showcased their blend of technical/progressive death metal, with bright melodies and soundscapes created with ease, all wrapped around a modern death metal core.
They have now returned with Continue reading “Fallujah – Dreamless (Review)”
This is the début album from First Fragment, who are a Canadian Technical Death Metal band.
Upon pressing play, my first impression is a jaw-dropping one. This is Technical Death Metal and then some. As it turns out though, there’s even more than just complex craziness going on here.
First Fragment can certainly play. At first glance it could seem as if all of the instruments are all over the place. Although that’s a good thing in many ways, crucially on Dasein, they’re all reined in appropriately for the needs of the song, rather than just let loose to roam and explore where they see fit, (although it does feel like that in some places).
Enthean are from the US and this is their début album. They play Black Metal.
This is progressive, technical and symphonic Black/Death Metal. It’s a bit of a mouthful, but then this is a band who have a lot of different influences. I hear bands like Zyklon, Dissection, Emperor, Dimmu Borgir, Septic Flesh and Fleshgod Apocalypse in their sound.
Continue reading “Enthean – Priests of Annihilation (Review)”
Job for a Cowboy are a US Death Metal band and this is their fourth album.
On this release Job for a Cowboy have refined their Death Metal further, adding a progressive sheen to their technical assault. Ambitious and bold, this is a game-changing release for the band in many ways, demonstrating that they are willing to do what it takes to reinvent themselves on their own terms.
The solid and modern Death Metal core of the band remains, but on Sun Eater this is complemented by additional ideas and different flourishes to what they have tried before, including nicely wandering basslines and progressive Metal explorations that truly flesh out their sound more than in the past. On Sun Eater it seems they have really pushed the envelope with their experimentation.
It’s really good to see a band that are not content to stay the same with every release; while still retaining their own identity the band have moved forwards with their style and embraced a more Death/Cynic aspect in addition to what they have previously done. This enhanced songwriting is apparent throughout this album.
The songs are complex, varied, layered and have a lot going on. Entwined melodies and eccentric grooves create all manner of intriguing soundscapes. The bass, which is always something I love to hear, is a major player in the band’s updated sound.
Note should also be made of their singer. Although he’s always had a charismatic growl, his performance on Sun Eater is probably his most diverse and enjoyable yet, with his growls and screams being flawlessly delivered and well-judged. His engaging vocal rhythms remain intact, even though the music has morphed and mutated around them.
Due to the above, Sun Eater offers less instant gratification than its predecessors, but repeated spins shows this to be a positive thing as the album grows on you like a plague, (in a good way).
Having successfully fully transitioned to this new progressive Death Metal style, this album is hugely impressive.
For fans of Obscura, Gorguts and the like, this is damn near essential.
Wonderbox Metal 