Happy Friday, Decibel readers!
This week is packed with mostly highly-produced, techy material. So for those of you who like tight kick-drums, bright-sounding guitars, and crisp vocal output, the week is your oyster (or something like that). If not, scroll down to the bottom and check out Thorn‘s new album.
Enjoy!
—
Abhoria – Abhoria
If you like your black metal well-cooked and with some tech-death and progressive flourishes, Abhoria is the band for you. The band’s sound bears a lot of similarities to latter-day Satyricon but with the production of, say, the next band on this list,
Stream: Apple Music
—
Abysmal Dawn – Nightmare Frontier
The spirit of punishing, busy late-90s death metal reigns eternal on the latest offering from LA’s heroes in Abysmal Dawn. Check out the grooves on “Blacken The Sky” if you’re looking for a brutal beat that sticks with you throughout the day.
Stream: Apple Music
—
Eternal Ascent – Reclaimation
I don’t tend to cover a lot of power metal on here, but every once and awhile, a band pulls enough grit and bombast into the mix that I have to make an exception. Connecticut’s Eternal Ascent summons all the glory and high-flying pizazz you’d hope for, while taking it a few steps further. Face-melting solos and soaring melodies are blended with crushing grooves and even some well-timed screaming vocals. Here’s how the band describes what they do:
We like to think that, though the “main genre” of this album is power metal, we tried to not limit ourselves to the tropes and formulae typically associated with it (though we do love dragons and video games). Pulling from our musical backgrounds in thrash, melodic death, and even a splash of “dad-rock” and crooner jazz really allowed us to explore our creative limits. Some people would also find the sound a bit strange for the genre — and I think that’s a direct result of chasing certain qualities like hard-hitting kick drums and a compressed sound not typically associated with melodic metal.
In other words, if you ever wanted to hear something akin to Nevermore but wished it went in a more power metal direction, you’ll probably dig this. I sure do!
Stream: Apple Music
—
Persefone – metanoia
Apparently these guys are from Andorra. That’s pretty cool, not a lot of bands can say that (Metal Archives lists a grand total of FIVE metal bands)! Anyway, the band plays a dizzying style of theatrical tech-death, similar to Ne Oblivscaris, and with moments that even remind me of Between the Buried and Me. The addition of synths give the band an extra-engaging dimension I don’t often find in techy bands, so that’s a nice bonus.
Stream: Apple Music
—
Thorn – Yawning Depths
Dirty, scary, unrefined death metal darkness. The doom element on this album gives it an extra layer of atmosphere to obscure the chaos and punishment occurring with all the drums and riff-work. An album to play on creepy drives in the woods.
