M.H.X ‘s Chronicles – Infinite Ocean

[nyrating]

19th June 2015 Reinier de Vries Album Reviews 0

This is a melodic death metal 4-piece from Sao Paulo, Brazil. Murillo Henrique Xavier (vocals/guitars) started the band on his own and released an EP called ‘The Preface’. Now, 2 years later, the first full-length with this time a complete line-up is a fact.

After an impressive atmospheric instrumental with bird sounds, rippling water, violins, female singing and tribal rhytmns, the second song hammers away. The music is a variety of different styles and can be described as progressive melodeath with metalcore passages and epic atmospheric pieces on a bed of popmusic. A kind of Amorphis combined with In Flames using atmospheric pieces of Epica and Nightwish, elements of HIM and some metalcore rages.

“Castles In the Air” starts in metalcore tempo with harsh singing, but then clean vocals enter the song. This clean vocals sound rather immature and aren’t strong enough to make any impression on me. Also the band uses more atmospheric keyboard pieces in a way Epica and Nigthwish do, but I’m constantly asking myself is this fitting in the entire ambience. After the fourth track I’m getting even more confused, without the harsh/grunting vocals and the aggressive drumming, it’s almost pop music I’m listening to. On the other hand, it does work at times, but I’m not really convinced. In “At the End” the clean singing ruins the song again (flawless and without inspiration) . I advice the band to look out for a guest appearance next time by a good singer. The production could also have been much heavier with the guitar riffs more in front to create a heavier album.

All in all there are enough good intentions and ideas, but there is too much diversity and variety in styles that I never get the feeling that I’m listening to something really good and groundbreaking, but perhaps they prove me wrong within a few years.

Tracklist:

01. Overture Of the Seas
02. Conquest Of the Oceans
03. Castles In the Sand
04. The Way Home
05. At the End
06. Outcry
07. Havet
08. Amazing Grace
09. A Winter Song
10. Moon And Sea

Playing Time: 55:37
Release Date: 1st June, 2015
Label: Independent
Website: www.facebook.com/MHXChronicles

About Reinier de Vries 188 Articles

Once a metal head, always a metalhead. My parents thought it would only be a period, but they were wrong. I quit to explain the beauty of metal music to others that are not into metal, because it is something you can't tell in words... It is like explaining to a teetotaller why a cold beer is so nice on a hot day... I started with bands like Accept, Metal Church, Iron Maiden and Metallica in the eighties and I think I will still listen to them when I'm stone deaf and old...