|
|
|||||||||||||||||
|
Life is often full of big surprises, and those are one of the many wonderful things in life, if the surprise is good at least. When unwrapping presents the excitement is to not knowing exactly, what will be unveiled in front of my eyes from underneath the wrapping. So how does this relate to my latest review of this anniversary “gift” from “Malefice” here on PoM? I can reveal this, a lot. So if this sparks your curiosity, then continue keep on reading our fellow readers... Receiving this “present” with a label attached and the words “Prog Metal” scratched into it, and delivered to my door by my editor-in-chief, wasn’t a big surprise, because of my love to the progressive metal scene and everything that surrounds it. Unwrapping my “present” was a total different unusual experience though. What welcomed my eyeballs was a wonderful cover artwork illustrating a tree pulled up by its roots and hovering in the air. Maybe this is a reference to a new beginning and a new chapter being written in the history of “Malefice”, who knows. One thing is for sure though, blast beats and breakdowns are not common ingredients in a classic progressive metal cocktail. So how can I define this art of music? Maybe deathcore is the proper label of the contents inside this package, and so this should have been my last written words of this review. Even though I’m wandering in unexplored territories here, the beautiful classy artwork and the clear heavy production caught my attention, so the die-hard prog metalhead between my shoulders is definitely up for a challenge. Be prepared to expect the unexpected… With the latest two anonymous releases ‘Dawn of Reprisal’ from 2009 and ‘Awaken the Tides’ released last year, both slipping unnoticed trough the fingers of many metalheads, a new record deal was maybe a welcome change, and could possible boost their motivation to higher unachieved levels. So here they are with a definitive complete line-up, returned to their beloved metal scene and hungering for success, recognition and respect from the metalheads outside the borders of their homeland England.
The opening song ‘Empirical Proof (Part One)’ is delivering a beautiful intro to seduce our attention, just to let our metalbrain be fooled and exploding out of its comfortless seat, protected by its skull, when the next song ‘Risen Through The Ashes’ kicks in with a surprise attack of brutal crunchy and heavy death metal riffs and thunderous blast beats. Add some additional layers of the off-time, complex and unique breakdowns, and your head will start swinging. The same recipe is used throughout the most of the remaining songs which follows. Frontman Mr. Butler is complementing nicely the aggressive sounds through each song by throwing up some impressive harsh screams and some very deep rusty death growls. Maybe he screams and growls like an untamed beast most of the time, but it fits the layers of groovy razor sharp metallic riffs and the maniacally drumming performance. The only resting place to catch your breath is song number eight, the second part of ‘Empirical Proof’, walking the same musical path as the opening song, with its mellow guitar riffs and piano passages. The bonus track and also the last tune ‘Reasons Lost’ closes off the album with a bit of a disappointment. It’s too slow and the rough clean singing style by Butler is sounding uninspired and uncontrolled. Although the bad ending, it has been a ride worth both time and money, and I’ll be watching closely the next steps taken by this band with their new upgraded line-up, and what the future holds and so should you. If metalcore smothered in delicious tasty elements from the death metal scene and progressive metal are getting you blood pumping, then go ahead and give this album a spin or two. Those of you who already are in the possession of the original album, just dig it out of its forgotten hidden location and dust it off. This upgraded edition is not worth your hard earned money, so you are better off keeping those in your pocket, until the furious five piece act will be unleashing their next full album. This is not pure prog, as I love it, but it still eats away my precious time… | ||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||
