Review by Richard Henry for MPM
Where has the time gone, album number 15 for the Canadian outfit, let’s get stuck in and see what we are dealing with!
Track 1 – Dark Wings of Deception – Spoken intro to this, before the slow brooding riff kicks in with the double bass flying then a really nice arpeggiated riff comes in over the top of it all, then the blasts kick in, really drum dominant mix on this track with the guitars coming in and out, the cleanish guitar section moves the sound out before a more straight ahead thrash beat comes in, nice counter melody over that main riff, pretty meaty track to kick off with, no frills straight ahead kind of track!
Track 2 – Goliath – tuned way down for that, real slammer of a riff, that’s some serious damage taking place in the pit with that into, double bass flying, then we have an almost Gothenburg style riff for the verse, its actually like a really heavy In Flames this one, even the chorus reminds me of them, again to the point, in and out track!
Track 3 – Die as a King – Again it’s almost like an 8-string tuning, but the blasts are back and a nice counter point riff with the rumbling low string and then a more complex part, really nice! Then into a mid-tempo grinder of a riff with slow double bass running under it before it kicks into again another Swedish sounding riff, plenty of melody then when it breaks down it gets even heavier and even more melodic, absolute banger of a track!
Track 4 – Bringer of Vengeance – Starting off with a bit of atmospherics, the riff with soundscapes and a spoken vocal, really nice, odd time groove and the way the drums play around it is really cool, that’s a proper grimy riff there, slow in comparison to the songs before it but a different feel at the start of this one, builds and builds the double bass kicks in, then we stop into a cleanish guitar part before it builds again into an almost deathcore style section, that slower riff near the end is again a perfect mosh section, before a bit more double bass onslaught till the end of the song.
Track 5 – Combustion – So straight off, we have the double bass and another sort of riff that is interchangeable with some of the stuff I have already heard in the first four tracks, that riff at forty seconds in though, is just nasty, I love it, a good track with lots of changes, the snare at times is getting lost in the mix for me, but bar that one riff, I have to say it’s just not grabbing me at all.
Track 6 – From the Land of the Living to the Land of the Dead – Now that is a riff, furious start to this one, absolutely flying and again the Swedish sounding counter point riff, it never gets old hearing that, you get the aggression but so much melody and a great descending riff over the chorus, that’s sort of counter point to the vocal, this just doesn’t let up, even when the double bass slower section comes in, the power is still there, that riff is killing me, it’s so good, track of the album so far, outstanding!
Track 7 – The Redeemer – Drum into to this over a clean guitar as it builds and the heavier guitar comes into it on top, then into a slow driving groove, with a heavy riff and more dissonant guitars on the outside, then into a god damn riff that Slayer would be proud of, thrash beat with driving double bass, that chorus riff that’s just the chords over the thrash beat before the double bass section is awesome, that middle with the muted melody part where it grinds right down as well is a nice touch breaking up the song before it kicks right back in again, this track absolutely slaps!
Track 8 – Heroes to the Villain’s – An almost Immortal style riff to kick this one off, then the double bass and blasts come in, really has a black metal feel, even the main verse riff has a Norway feel about it, really nice chorus when the blasts kick in, this is a brick wall of a track, it’s so heavy but yet the melody is still there despite the aggression not stopping, even when we get into the middle with the half time that melodic riff just works, then back out into the verse and chorus, pure violence till the end!
Track 9 – Gravestones and Coffins – Drum beat intro, into what is a really melodic down-tuned riff that reminds me of another band, and I can’t think who it is, slowest track so far, slow verse riff then it picks up on the kicks and then starts to build as it works its way through the sections and then, boom, into the blast beats, before coming back into the double bass again, sure to be a proper headbanger of a track into that intro riff that so reminds me of someone! That middle section where it breaks down with the drum fills before building back up into the double bass and melodic riff is so well placed to split up the song!
Track 10 – The Sacrifice for Truth – Guitar intro, melodic sort of driving double bass filled riff, before it goes off into thrash tempo, nice use of the chugging guitar and a different guitar part playing round it, then it heads into a mid-verse riff, again very nice use of a static riff and a melody part as the tempo comes back up again, that’s again like a deathcore style breakdown in the chorus, the a bass melody part being played over a slow dragging guitar riff, nice solo that 100% has Paradise Lost style vibes all over it, especially as it almost sounds like a keys part blended in just after it, then the clean guitar comes in and the counter point riff comes in again, really clever use of dynamics and parts to build this back up again!
7 out of 10
Solid album, there are some outstanding tracks on there and some really great arrangements in amongst it all, Combustion just didn’t work for me at all and lost the momentum right in the middle of the album, but apart from that, really solid, definitely worth getting on your shopping list if you fancy some brutal death metal!
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