Progressive Death Metal – Page 25

Piah Mater – Memories of Inexistence (Review)

Piah Mater are from Brazil and play Progressive Death Metal. This is their début album.

This is Progressive Death Metal that’s expertly played and produced.

If you take Opeth (old) as a base template and then add in some more Progressive influences, (Wolverine and some aspects of Anathema spring to mind), then you’ll have a good idea of what Piah Mater sound like.

The singer has a top notch voice. His clean vocals are well performed and have the requisite amount of personality to them. His growls are deep with a slight rasp and work well with the melodic music.

The songs twist, wind and curl their way through the playing times. Quasi-melodic angular riffs meet Progressive melodies and it’s clear that Piah Mater obviously know exactly how they want to sound.

Memories of Inexistence is a very enjoyable 58 minutes of Progressive Death Metal that is easy to like and easy to recommend.

If you dislike the direction that Opeth have taken over the last few years then Piah Mater can help to soothe your discontent. This is an album that’s a return to the roots that Opeth put down, only updated for the present day.

Give them a listen.

Ingurgitating Oblivion – Continuum of Absence (Review)

This is the second album by this German Death Metal band.

Ingurgitating Oblivion is for lovers of dissonant, Doom-infected Death Metal replete with dark atmosphere and malevolent sounds. This is for fans of Gorguts, Morbid Angel, Immolation and other purveyors of interesting and atypical Death Metal.

That the band have talent and can play is apparent straight away. Add to this a production that settles nicely around the band like a foggy miasma and songwriting skills that have clearly been honed over time and you have an album that has all of the necessary ingredients for something truly special.

On first listen this is an album that gels together instantly and on repeated spins it merely settles deep into your conscious even more, like a welcome indoctrination. This, of course, assumes that this style of Death Metal is one that you can take; if not then there’s no hope for you really, and you’d be better off with something simpler and easier to absorb.

This is Progressive Death Metal without any trace of pretension. The songs exist not to satisfy the musings of the musicians but to satisfy themselves. They operate purely in their own right and owe nothing to anyone other than their own sense of internal aesthetics.

This really is a first-rate release. The songs have longevity and depth oozing out of them and you know this is going to be an album that you’ll keep returning to in the years to come.

I love music that is a bit different, has something extra to offer; Continuum of Absence definitely has this.

Fans of challenging and interesting Death Metal take note.

Holotropic – Permeate (Review)

Holotropic are from Slovakia and play Progressive Technical Extreme Metal. This is their début album.

I wasn’t sure what this was going to sound like and was afraid it was going to be some wishy-washy, formless nonsense. I’m not sure why. This was all dispelled shortly into the first song; what I expected to be some throwaway intro track turns out to be masterful Extreme Metal that wouldn’t be out of place on an album by Between the Buried and Me or The Faceless.

More fool me.

No, cynical me has taken a firm beating and I’m very glad too. Permeate is a very impressive album.

Holotropic mix brutality, progressive sections, melodic parts, piano interludes, Jazz, heavy riffs and chaotic rhythms together into a cohesive whole that they’ve then weaved into their comprehensive Extreme Metal tapestry. This is either a Progressive Metal band that have taken Death Metal as their own, or a Death Metal band who have learned the value of expansive variety. Which it is doesn’t really matter.

Death Metal is an apt genre, but the nature of the riffs, the modern cadence, the exploratory nature of the music…it’s simply more than most Death Metal bands get up to. Again the comparisons to the aforementioned Between the Buried and Me and The Faceless come to mind, as this is Extreme Metal that has a modern Progressive slant.

The band can play very well and there’s a boat-load of technicality on display here too. As Technical Death Metal goes it can give most a run for their money.

For all the variety and interesting ideas of the music, the vocals are mainly pitch-black growls. It works well though as it provides a central anchor for the band’s extremity and musical meanderings. They sound great too. Occasional cleans appear sparingly and are professionally done.

Permeate is a varied and interesting début from an extremely promising band. I insist you take note of Holotropic and get your hands on this. They have a bright future ahead of them.

Highly recommended.

Letallis – Resonate (Review)

Letallis are from the US and play Progressive/Melodic Death Metal. This is their second album.

Originally a full band; for this release everything was performed by just one person, showing a large amount of talent in doing so.

Scandinavian Melodeath is the main point of comparison for Letallis, as well as a smidgen of Metalcore and a pinch of Modern Death Metal. Imagine a band like Lamb of God with a higher level of musicianship and Progressive Metal tendencies.

Vocals occasionally venture into the territory of screams but are largely deeper affairs that aren’t quite full growls, more like guttural shouts. Clean vocals do appear but these are a rarity.

The songs are very guitar-oriented, heavy on the leads, solos and melodics. Good riffs are frequent and the direct Melodeath-influence merges with Progressive Metal tendencies to create a long, ambitious album, totalling 68 minutes of music.

I have enjoyed this. It veers into the more commercial end of this style of music without going too far into that territory as some of the originators/followers of the Melodic Death Metal style have done. Resonate is further saved from this error by the incorporation of the Progressive Metal elements which give the songs more depth and longevity than they would otherwise have if they were absent.

For fans of Lamb of God, In Flames, Dark Tranquillity, etc.

Baring Teeth – Ghost Chorus Among Old Ruins (Review)

This is Baring Teeth’s second album. They are from the US and they play Progressive/Technical Death Metal.

With a cover that gives nothing away, I was intrigued to find out what lay within…

Baring Teeth play dense, complicated music that mixes technicality and progressive forays to create an unusual beast of an album.

This is an interesting and unusual listen. Like a Jazz-Metal fusion of Uphill Battle, Converge, Crowpath, Gorguts and Pyrrhon.

Angular riffs and complex drumming make for impenetrable songs that take time to reveal their hidden treasures. The bass has a good presence and role to play too.

The songs meander along the highway of distorted frenzy. Sometimes restrained and relaxed, in no hurry to get to their destination; sometimes frenetic and unhinged, desperate to get somewhere, anywhere; sometimes the calm before the storm takes over; sometimes the controlled chaos of true genius.

Frequently; all of the above at the same time, and then some.

The vocals sound like they’re struggling to be heard behind the wall of noise that the band make. They’re perfectly serviceable but it’s the chaotic music that provides the real focal point here. Human noises are simply an addition to the trauma of the rest of the band’s cacophony.

Definitely an acquired taste this one, but definitely one worth persevering with.

Zero Gravity – Holocaust Awaits (Review)

This is the début album from India’s Zero Gravity – a Thrash/Death Metal band.

After a pointless intro, the band start the album properly and they introduce us to their rather fetching take on Death Metal. Think Old-School Death Metal with a sharp Progressive edge and an added splash of Arch Enemy’s modernity and catchiness.

If you think Arch Enemy are too clean and polished sounding; if you’d prefer it if they had more of an underground, raw feeling then look no further. Arch Enemy combined with Death is as good a reference point as any. And do you know what? It sounds bloody good.

The singer has a good bark and she delivers the lines with passion and bite. She has a great voice and it works with the aggressive riffs to fuel the band to greater heights of attack.

The riffs and licks flash out like lightning and the technical/progressive elements of their sound are abundant but relatively subtle. These are clearly people who know how to play their instruments well and don’t need to be overtly flashy or ostentatious to prove this.

Holocaust Awaits is an album full of hooks and has plenty of catchy parts to it. Sometimes this kind of songwriting can be a recipe for acute gratification at the expense of chronic satisfaction, however Zero Gravity are just damn Metal enough for the acute to bleed into the chronic and we could very well end up with an album that has some longevity to it. Only time will tell but I know what I think the outcome will be…

Minus the intro there are 8 songs on this album and the entire thing lasts just over 40 minutes – it’s a good length as it allows the band to show what they’re capable of but doesn’t let them outstay their welcome.

This is the kind of music that’s actually surprisingly hard to do well – this style of Melodic Death Metal with a bit of groove, a bit of Death, catchiness and hooks…on paper it sounds all very good but unfortunately a lot of bands who try this style end up sounding very mediocre and stale.

It’s all in the execution of course and Zero Gravity avoid all of this this by simply writing kick-ass riffs that are artfully arranged into actual songs, and decent ones at that.

A very enjoyable listen. Check this out and see what you think.

Orion – On the Banks of Rubicon (Review)

Orion are from India and play Progressive Death Metal. This is their début EP.

If you imagine Opeth with more of a Death Metal slant then you’ll have an idea of what Orion sound like.

The band are adept at the strong melodies and captivating leads but they also know how to take it to its brutal conclusion and unleash their inner beasts.

The vocals consist of deep growling and fine-sounding cleans. The growls are perfectly serviceable but to me it’s the cleans that steal the show here. They soar effortlessly and have a tone to them that’s quite refreshing.

The band know how to play and bend their talents into creating Progressive songs that yearn to tell a story as much as they ache to set fire to things. The guitar work is enticing and the combination of aggressive music and more considered approaches makes for an enjoyable and satisfying listen.

Each of these songs is Metal to the core and the winding leads, forthright riffing and Progressive tendencies mean that this is an EP worthy of respect. There are lots of good ideas and interesting riffs here and the band produce enough variety within their self-imposed template that these 4 tracks just fly by.

Having been around since 2008 with only this and a demo to show for it, they may not be the most prolific band but let’s hope that changes soon.

Definitely ones to watch.

Alitor – Eternal Depression (Review)

This is the début album from Serbian Progressive Thrash Metal band Alitor.

Alitor play Thrash Metal with bite and a Death-esque Progressive edge. Straight out of the gate it’s high-octane stuff and has an immediate charisma to it.

The musicianship of the band is first-rate. There is some very skilled and technical playing going on here. This is true of all of the instruments, even the oft-neglected bass.

The songs combine snappy Thrash riffs with piercing Progressive melodies and hybrid Thrash/Death Metal vocals. The singer is quite varied in his approach and frequently veers into more Death Metal territory than that of classic Thrash.

These are involving and complex songs. The drums, bass and guitars are all played and executed at an advanced level and the strong recording makes the most of this. Imagine a classic Thrash band, mix this with Death at their Proggiest, add a splash of Death Metal and Alitor will be the result.

With every song, (bar the first), being longer than 5 minutes this is an album that has plenty of depth and a lot to offer. Eternal Depression is somewhat of a misleading title as there is nothing to get depressed about here.

Have a listen to Alitor and let them blow you away.

Annihilation – The Undivided (Review)

Annihilation are from Portugal and this is their latest EP. They play Death Metal.

Their début album Against the Storm was a very enjoyable slab of Death Metal with plenty of brutality and top vocals to enjoy.

So what does The Undivided give us? More of the same?

Not at all.

In the years between releases it seems Annihilation have been busy refining and updating their sound. It’s still Death Metal, of course, but now they’ve added in more technicality and dissonant riffing that takes them away from the Deicide influence on their début and moves them closer to a more interesting, Progressive Death Metal style in line with bands like Gorguts and Execration.

This time the songs are more involved and intricate. Dark, expansive melodies dominate rather than the fully brutal riffing of the first album. They still do have a brutal aspect to their sound but it’s now clothed in grimier materials and surrounded by lurking menace and sinister complexity.

The songs on this EP are real growers and have genuine depth and longevity. Seeing a band spread their wings like this and embrace their potential is a very rewarding sight and bands such as this should be supported at every possible step in their journey.

I must say I heartily approve of this change of direction. Although I really enjoyed Against the Storm ultimately it was nothing different, just an enjoyable Brutal Death Metal album. The Undivided, however, sees the band reaching for something different, something more individual. The results speak for themselves.

I genuinely can’t wait to hear what they do next.

Well done Annihilation.

Diskord – Oscillations (Review)

Diskord are from Norway and this is their latest EP. They play Death Metal.

Diskord play Death Metal that’s fused together with technicality, atypical guitar workouts and strange musical shifts. The result is a band who definitely have their own identity.

Oscillations is 26 minutes of Progressive Technical Death Metal that never takes the easy or simple route.

Diskord may have a dense and forbidding sound but it’s surprisingly accessible, considering. Amongst the violence and tempo changes lurk Doom-influenced passages and a subtle Black Metal influence that work alongside the more brutal and frenzied parts to bring harmony and a sense of vicious gloom to their work.

The sound is warm and apoplectic with seemingly random bouts of violence juxtaposed with a more lurking malevolence. All of the instruments are audible and the bass has a good role to play.

The songs are well-written and constructed with the crazy instrument-heroics never getting in the way of the song itself. Not an easy thing to avoid happening.

The vocals are quite varied, ranging from the Death-esque to the Blackened that are entirely appropriate to the music being played.

Diskord sound like Old-School Death Metal, (think Cynic, Death, Atheist), mixed with a more modern ultra-technical and eccentric influence. It’s a very meaty and enjoyable release that has a lot of nooks and crannies to explore and learn from.

A quality EP from a talented band.

Check them out.