#eternalstorm — Public Fediverse posts

https://www.europesays.com/uk/1035111/ Loneshore – Nothing Left to Deconstruct Review #2026 #30 #Amenra #BrazilianMetal #Entertainment #EternalStorm #ExplosionsInTheSky #Jun26 #Loneshore #music #NothingLeftToDeconstruct #Opeth #PostRock #PostMetal #ProgressiveMetal #Review #Reviews #TheOcean #UK #UnitedKingdom #WillowtipRecords

When one pictures Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, post-metal is probably not among the imagery that readily springs to mind. But the more I think about it, the more the birthplace of Loneshore makes sense. Just as post-metal is often defined by striking contrasts, so is Rio, a city where mountains and beaches coexist alongside favelas and wealthy communities. This diversity is mirrored in Loneshore’s sophomore record, Nothing Left to Deconstruct, which arrives nearly eight years after their 2018 debut, From Presence to Silence. How have the members of Loneshore matured as musicians during this time?

It turns out that Loneshore wasn’t always primarily a post-metal group. From Presence to Silence blended somber, doomy melodeath similar to Eternal Storm with Opethian melodies. Nothing Left to Deconstruct, however, squarely straddles the line between post-metal and Explosions in the Sky-esque post-rock, while adopting Amenra’s silvery-smooth buildups and releases. Loneshore retains some progressive metal, although this time it’s closer to The Ocean, especially during some of the clean-sung passages in “To Stride the Black Earth.” In fact, Luiz Felipe Netto’s clean and harsh vocal styles both cover a wide array of registers. Nothing Left to Deconstruct is no less lush from an instrumental perspective, making it an enjoyable listen from front to back.

Nothing Left to Deconstruct flows like a river, though don’t expect many whitewater rapids. Intro track “Self Oscillations” is like a gentle tributary, its dreamy vocal harmonies, mild guitar notes, and mesmerizing tom drum percussion rolling fluidly into “Straylight.” Loneshore makes good use of three guitarists and a bassist by overlapping their lines together sumptuously (“Parhelion,” “Of Lost Waters”). The 10-minute centerpiece “Birth of a Mountain” features a laid-back recurring melody that rises and falls like a sea of sand dunes. That said, there are sometimes surges of vehemence in the form of blackened snarls and forceful riffs (“Straylight,” “To Stride the Black Earth,” “Parhelion”). Because Loneshore doesn’t overly favor hooks or heaviness, Nothing Left to Deconstruct is a bit of a slow burn, requiring a few complete spins to sink in for me.

As relaxing as Nothing Left to Deconstruct is overall, most of its individual songs last longer than their contents can support. The majority hover around the 8-minute mark, and all of these have lengthy outros that don’t add much. “Of Lost Waters” begins with a pristine and serene post-rock tune, which is diminished by the minute-and-a-half meandering conclusion of “Birth of a Mountain” that came before. Likewise, concluding track “With Nothing We Part” is the most languid and least memorable despite a momentary injection of vitality at the halfway point. On the other hand, “To Stride the Black Earth” is the punchiest and has no noticeable fluff. While the total runtime sits at a fairly reasonable 52 minutes, there is a stronger 40 to 45-minute record lurking within.

It’s not uncommon for artists’ priorities to shift during a lengthy absence; in this case, Loneshore is the better for it. The post/prog metal hybrid Nothing Left to Deconstruct passes by like a pleasant ocean breeze in Rio de Janeiro. It took some time for me to fully appreciate it, but I’m glad I did. The main deficiencies holding back Nothing Left to Deconstruct are a lack of decisive conclusions and a bit of bloat. Nevertheless, if Loneshore continues to develop in this manner, I anticipate great things from album number three.

Rating: 3.0/5.0
DR: 8 | Format Reviewed: 320 kbps mp3
Label: Willowtip Records
Websites: loneshore.bandcamp.com | facebook.com/Loneshore
Releases Worldwide: June 19th, 2026

When one pictures Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, post-metal is probably not among the imagery that readily springs to mind. But the more I think about it, the more the birthplace of Loneshore makes sense. Just as post-metal is often defined by striking contrasts, so is Rio, a city where mountains and beaches coexist alongside favelas and wealthy communities. This diversity is mirrored in Loneshore’s sophomore record, Nothing Left to Deconstruct, which arrives nearly eight years after their 2018 debut, From Presence to Silence. How have the members of Loneshore matured as musicians during this time?

It turns out that Loneshore wasn’t always primarily a post-metal group. From Presence to Silence blended somber, doomy melodeath similar to Eternal Storm with Opethian melodies. Nothing Left to Deconstruct, however, squarely straddles the line between post-metal and Explosions in the Sky-esque post-rock, while adopting Amenra’s silvery-smooth buildups and releases. Loneshore retains some progressive metal, although this time it’s closer to The Ocean, especially during some of the clean-sung passages in “To Stride the Black Earth.” In fact, Luiz Felipe Netto’s clean and harsh vocal styles both cover a wide array of registers. Nothing Left to Deconstruct is no less lush from an instrumental perspective, making it an enjoyable listen from front to back.

Nothing Left to Deconstruct flows like a river, though don’t expect many whitewater rapids. Intro track “Self Oscillations” is like a gentle tributary, its dreamy vocal harmonies, mild guitar notes, and mesmerizing tom drum percussion rolling fluidly into “Straylight.” Loneshore makes good use of three guitarists and a bassist by overlapping their lines together sumptuously (“Parhelion,” “Of Lost Waters”). The 10-minute centerpiece “Birth of a Mountain” features a laid-back recurring melody that rises and falls like a sea of sand dunes. That said, there are sometimes surges of vehemence in the form of blackened snarls and forceful riffs (“Straylight,” “To Stride the Black Earth,” “Parhelion”). Because Loneshore doesn’t overly favor hooks or heaviness, Nothing Left to Deconstruct is a bit of a slow burn, requiring a few complete spins to sink in for me.

As relaxing as Nothing Left to Deconstruct is overall, most of its individual songs last longer than their contents can support. The majority hover around the 8-minute mark, and all of these have lengthy outros that don’t add much. “Of Lost Waters” begins with a pristine and serene post-rock tune, which is diminished by the minute-and-a-half meandering conclusion of “Birth of a Mountain” that came before. Likewise, concluding track “With Nothing We Part” is the most languid and least memorable despite a momentary injection of vitality at the halfway point. On the other hand, “To Stride the Black Earth” is the punchiest and has no noticeable fluff. While the total runtime sits at a fairly reasonable 52 minutes, there is a stronger 40 to 45-minute record lurking within.

It’s not uncommon for artists’ priorities to shift during a lengthy absence; in this case, Loneshore is the better for it. The post/prog metal hybrid Nothing Left to Deconstruct passes by like a pleasant ocean breeze in Rio de Janeiro. It took some time for me to fully appreciate it, but I’m glad I did. The main deficiencies holding back Nothing Left to Deconstruct are a lack of decisive conclusions and a bit of bloat. Nevertheless, if Loneshore continues to develop in this manner, I anticipate great things from album number three.

Rating: 3.0/5.0
DR: 8 | Format Reviewed: 320 kbps mp3
Label: Willowtip Records
Websites: loneshore.bandcamp.com | facebook.com/Loneshore
Releases Worldwide: June 19th, 2026

When one pictures Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, post-metal is probably not among the imagery that readily springs to mind. But the more I think about it, the more the birthplace of Loneshore makes sense. Just as post-metal is often defined by striking contrasts, so is Rio, a city where mountains and beaches coexist alongside favelas and wealthy communities. This diversity is mirrored in Loneshore’s sophomore record, Nothing Left to Deconstruct, which arrives nearly eight years after their 2018 debut, From Presence to Silence. How have the members of Loneshore matured as musicians during this time?

It turns out that Loneshore wasn’t always primarily a post-metal group. From Presence to Silence blended somber, doomy melodeath similar to Eternal Storm with Opethian melodies. Nothing Left to Deconstruct, however, squarely straddles the line between post-metal and Explosions in the Sky-esque post-rock, while adopting Amenra’s silvery-smooth buildups and releases. Loneshore retains some progressive metal, although this time it’s closer to The Ocean, especially during some of the clean-sung passages in “To Stride the Black Earth.” In fact, Luiz Felipe Netto’s clean and harsh vocal styles both cover a wide array of registers. Nothing Left to Deconstruct is no less lush from an instrumental perspective, making it an enjoyable listen from front to back.

Nothing Left to Deconstruct flows like a river, though don’t expect many whitewater rapids. Intro track “Self Oscillations” is like a gentle tributary, its dreamy vocal harmonies, mild guitar notes, and mesmerizing tom drum percussion rolling fluidly into “Straylight.” Loneshore makes good use of three guitarists and a bassist by overlapping their lines together sumptuously (“Parhelion,” “Of Lost Waters”). The 10-minute centerpiece “Birth of a Mountain” features a laid-back recurring melody that rises and falls like a sea of sand dunes. That said, there are sometimes surges of vehemence in the form of blackened snarls and forceful riffs (“Straylight,” “To Stride the Black Earth,” “Parhelion”). Because Loneshore doesn’t overly favor hooks or heaviness, Nothing Left to Deconstruct is a bit of a slow burn, requiring a few complete spins to sink in for me.

As relaxing as Nothing Left to Deconstruct is overall, most of its individual songs last longer than their contents can support. The majority hover around the 8-minute mark, and all of these have lengthy outros that don’t add much. “Of Lost Waters” begins with a pristine and serene post-rock tune, which is diminished by the minute-and-a-half meandering conclusion of “Birth of a Mountain” that came before. Likewise, concluding track “With Nothing We Part” is the most languid and least memorable despite a momentary injection of vitality at the halfway point. On the other hand, “To Stride the Black Earth” is the punchiest and has no noticeable fluff. While the total runtime sits at a fairly reasonable 52 minutes, there is a stronger 40 to 45-minute record lurking within.

It’s not uncommon for artists’ priorities to shift during a lengthy absence; in this case, Loneshore is the better for it. The post/prog metal hybrid Nothing Left to Deconstruct passes by like a pleasant ocean breeze in Rio de Janeiro. It took some time for me to fully appreciate it, but I’m glad I did. The main deficiencies holding back Nothing Left to Deconstruct are a lack of decisive conclusions and a bit of bloat. Nevertheless, if Loneshore continues to develop in this manner, I anticipate great things from album number three.

Rating: 3.0/5.0
DR: 8 | Format Reviewed: 320 kbps mp3
Label: Willowtip Records
Websites: loneshore.bandcamp.com | facebook.com/Loneshore
Releases Worldwide: June 19th, 2026

When one pictures Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, post-metal is probably not among the imagery that readily springs to mind. But the more I think about it, the more the birthplace of Loneshore makes sense. Just as post-metal is often defined by striking contrasts, so is Rio, a city where mountains and beaches coexist alongside favelas and wealthy communities. This diversity is mirrored in Loneshore’s sophomore record, Nothing Left to Deconstruct, which arrives nearly eight years after their 2018 debut, From Presence to Silence. How have the members of Loneshore matured as musicians during this time?

It turns out that Loneshore wasn’t always primarily a post-metal group. From Presence to Silence blended somber, doomy melodeath similar to Eternal Storm with Opethian melodies. Nothing Left to Deconstruct, however, squarely straddles the line between post-metal and Explosions in the Sky-esque post-rock, while adopting Amenra’s silvery-smooth buildups and releases. Loneshore retains some progressive metal, although this time it’s closer to The Ocean, especially during some of the clean-sung passages in “To Stride the Black Earth.” In fact, Luiz Felipe Netto’s clean and harsh vocal styles both cover a wide array of registers. Nothing Left to Deconstruct is no less lush from an instrumental perspective, making it an enjoyable listen from front to back.

Nothing Left to Deconstruct flows like a river, though don’t expect many whitewater rapids. Intro track “Self Oscillations” is like a gentle tributary, its dreamy vocal harmonies, mild guitar notes, and mesmerizing tom drum percussion rolling fluidly into “Straylight.” Loneshore makes good use of three guitarists and a bassist by overlapping their lines together sumptuously (“Parhelion,” “Of Lost Waters”). The 10-minute centerpiece “Birth of a Mountain” features a laid-back recurring melody that rises and falls like a sea of sand dunes. That said, there are sometimes surges of vehemence in the form of blackened snarls and forceful riffs (“Straylight,” “To Stride the Black Earth,” “Parhelion”). Because Loneshore doesn’t overly favor hooks or heaviness, Nothing Left to Deconstruct is a bit of a slow burn, requiring a few complete spins to sink in for me.

As relaxing as Nothing Left to Deconstruct is overall, most of its individual songs last longer than their contents can support. The majority hover around the 8-minute mark, and all of these have lengthy outros that don’t add much. “Of Lost Waters” begins with a pristine and serene post-rock tune, which is diminished by the minute-and-a-half meandering conclusion of “Birth of a Mountain” that came before. Likewise, concluding track “With Nothing We Part” is the most languid and least memorable despite a momentary injection of vitality at the halfway point. On the other hand, “To Stride the Black Earth” is the punchiest and has no noticeable fluff. While the total runtime sits at a fairly reasonable 52 minutes, there is a stronger 40 to 45-minute record lurking within.

It’s not uncommon for artists’ priorities to shift during a lengthy absence; in this case, Loneshore is the better for it. The post/prog metal hybrid Nothing Left to Deconstruct passes by like a pleasant ocean breeze in Rio de Janeiro. It took some time for me to fully appreciate it, but I’m glad I did. The main deficiencies holding back Nothing Left to Deconstruct are a lack of decisive conclusions and a bit of bloat. Nevertheless, if Loneshore continues to develop in this manner, I anticipate great things from album number three.

Rating: 3.0/5.0
DR: 8 | Format Reviewed: 320 kbps mp3
Label: Willowtip Records
Websites: loneshore.bandcamp.com | facebook.com/Loneshore
Releases Worldwide: June 19th, 2026

Dissocia – To Lift the Veil Review

By Carcharodon

Dissocia is the brainchild of multi-instrumentalist Daniel R Flys (of Persefone and Eternal Storm) and drummer Gabriel Valcázar (Wormed and Cancer). On their debut, To Lift the Veil, the duo set themselves a challenge: blend extreme metal with synthwave and dreamwave elements to create a catchy, yet unpredictable, blend of genres that come together into a progressive package. Were these two complete unknowns presenting that vision, one would rightly expect a horrifically unlistenable car crash. However, given Flys and Valcázar’s pedigree with their other outfits, I had somewhat higher hopes (albeit with expectations carefully managed) for Dissocia. I’m not entirely sure what dreamwave is, and synthwave is not my go-to, although it has its place1 but, mixed with extreme metal, I envisaged some sort of off-the-wall Devin Townsend craziness happening.

Straight out of the gate, the dancing arpeggio-like guitar line and swelling synths that open “Existentialist” make clear that To Lift the Veil is going to be a wild ride. And so it proves. Across a chaotic 41 minutes and change, Dissocia lurch between progressive melodeath, something that approaches deathcore in a few places (“He Who Dwells”), symphonic synth movements, dreamy Unreqvited-esque sequences and more, the whole often set to weirdly discordant, pulsing rhythms that border on industrial groove. All in all, the album’s structures have the same levels of predictability as the movements of a severely inebriated person crossing an ice rink. This need not necessarily be viewed as a bad thing though. Flys is both a talented guitarist and a versatile vocalist, his harsh vox often recalling Gojira’s Joe Duplantier (“Existentialist”), while his surprisingly delicate cleans, which occasionally wander into Caligula’s Horse territory (“Evasion”), offer a much-needed extra dimension. Similarly, Valcázar’s work on drums is stellar and the sheer unpredictability of this record is part of its charm.

The challenge for Dissocia is to somehow tie the numerous threads of To Lift the Veil into a cohesive tapestry, rather than a ball of yarn. At its strongest, they manage this well. There’s a rabid groove to “Samsara” that it’s almost impossible not to enjoy, while the slow build synth opening to “Zenosyne” gradually unfolds itself, the tension building, before the Flys’ guitar lets loose progressive death riffs and Valcázar unleashes overlapping broadsides behind the kit. This flows well into “The Lucifer Effect,” which similarly shifts between soaring moments of chaos and more reflective passages. While the turn-on-a-dime nature of the craziness does in some ways recall Devin Townsend, it’s not until the heavily distorted screams at the midway point of closer “Out of Slumber” that Hevy Devy really shows through in the vocals.

Not everything on To Lift the Veil works though and, at times, it feels like Dissocia are losing their grasp on the myriad elements of the record. “He Who Dwells” is the most obvious example of this, as the progressive extreme elements, which often mirror opener “Existentialist,” stray into deathcore territory, particularly in Valcázar’s drumming. This simply doesn’t gel with the rest of To Lift the Veil. Equally, the drifting moods of “Evasion” seem rather aimless at times, while Flys’ vocals rather get away from him on closer “Out of Slumber,” which by its end feels like someone desperately trying to claw themselves out of slumber and into wakefulness. The production, also handled by Flys, doesn’t always help, with the drums sometimes seeming to disappear down a hole (middle of “He Who Dwells”) before roaring back to the front of the stage, and the whole thing feeling loud and slightly flat, despite the DR6.

You have to admire the vision and ambition on show on To Lift the Veil, which in other hands would likely have been a hot mess. Far from easing themselves into things on their debut, Dissocia have thrown everything at this record and some of it’s really good (“Samsara” and “Zenosyne”). The stunning artwork by Rein Van Oyen (Haken) gives a sense of the surreal, expansive journey you can expect, but perhaps not the chaotic nature of the ride. I hope Dissocia have a second album in them because, with just a little more refinement and focus to iron out some of the inconsistencies, as well as improve the production a little, there is a helluva lot of very interesting potential here.

Rating: 2.5/5.0
DR: 6 | Format Reviewed: 320 kb/s mp3
Label: Willowtip Records
Websites: dissociaofficial.bandcamp.com/album/to-lift-the-veil | facebook.com/dissociaofficial
Releases Worldwide: March 21st, 2025

#25 #2025 #AmericanMetal #CaligulaSHorse #Cancer #Deathcore #DevinTownsend #Dissocia #ElectronicaMetal #EternalStorm #Gojira #Mar25 #Persefone #ProgressiveMetal #Review #Reviews #Spanish #Synthwave #ToLiftTheVeil #Unreqvited #WillowtipRecords #Wormed

Dissocia – To Lift the Veil Review

By Carcharodon

Dissocia is the brainchild of multi-instrumentalist Daniel R Flys (of Persefone and Eternal Storm) and drummer Gabriel Valcázar (Wormed and Cancer). On their debut, To Lift the Veil, the duo set themselves a challenge: blend extreme metal with synthwave and dreamwave elements to create a catchy, yet unpredictable, blend of genres that come together into a progressive package. Were these two complete unknowns presenting that vision, one would rightly expect a horrifically unlistenable car crash. However, given Flys and Valcázar’s pedigree with their other outfits, I had somewhat higher hopes (albeit with expectations carefully managed) for Dissocia. I’m not entirely sure what dreamwave is, and synthwave is not my go-to, although it has its place1 but, mixed with extreme metal, I envisaged some sort of off-the-wall Devin Townsend craziness happening.

Straight out of the gate, the dancing arpeggio-like guitar line and swelling synths that open “Existentialist” make clear that To Lift the Veil is going to be a wild ride. And so it proves. Across a chaotic 41 minutes and change, Dissocia lurch between progressive melodeath, something that approaches deathcore in a few places (“He Who Dwells”), symphonic synth movements, dreamy Unreqvited-esque sequences and more, the whole often set to weirdly discordant, pulsing rhythms that border on industrial groove. All in all, the album’s structures have the same levels of predictability as the movements of a severely inebriated person crossing an ice rink. This need not necessarily be viewed as a bad thing though. Flys is both a talented guitarist and a versatile vocalist, his harsh vox often recalling Gojira’s Joe Duplantier (“Existentialist”), while his surprisingly delicate cleans, which occasionally wander into Caligula’s Horse territory (“Evasion”), offer a much-needed extra dimension. Similarly, Valcázar’s work on drums is stellar and the sheer unpredictability of this record is part of its charm.

The challenge for Dissocia is to somehow tie the numerous threads of To Lift the Veil into a cohesive tapestry, rather than a ball of yarn. At its strongest, they manage this well. There’s a rabid groove to “Samsara” that it’s almost impossible not to enjoy, while the slow build synth opening to “Zenosyne” gradually unfolds itself, the tension building, before the Flys’ guitar lets loose progressive death riffs and Valcázar unleashes overlapping broadsides behind the kit. This flows well into “The Lucifer Effect,” which similarly shifts between soaring moments of chaos and more reflective passages. While the turn-on-a-dime nature of the craziness does in some ways recall Devin Townsend, it’s not until the heavily distorted screams at the midway point of closer “Out of Slumber” that Hevy Devy really shows through in the vocals.

Not everything on To Lift the Veil works though and, at times, it feels like Dissocia are losing their grasp on the myriad elements of the record. “He Who Dwells” is the most obvious example of this, as the progressive extreme elements, which often mirror opener “Existentialist,” stray into deathcore territory, particularly in Valcázar’s drumming. This simply doesn’t gel with the rest of To Lift the Veil. Equally, the drifting moods of “Evasion” seem rather aimless at times, while Flys’ vocals rather get away from him on closer “Out of Slumber,” which by its end feels like someone desperately trying to claw themselves out of slumber and into wakefulness. The production, also handled by Flys, doesn’t always help, with the drums sometimes seeming to disappear down a hole (middle of “He Who Dwells”) before roaring back to the front of the stage, and the whole thing feeling loud and slightly flat, despite the DR6.

You have to admire the vision and ambition on show on To Lift the Veil, which in other hands would likely have been a hot mess. Far from easing themselves into things on their debut, Dissocia have thrown everything at this record and some of it’s really good (“Samsara” and “Zenosyne”). The stunning artwork by Rein Van Oyen (Haken) gives a sense of the surreal, expansive journey you can expect, but perhaps not the chaotic nature of the ride. I hope Dissocia have a second album in them because, with just a little more refinement and focus to iron out some of the inconsistencies, as well as improve the production a little, there is a helluva lot of very interesting potential here.

Rating: 2.5/5.0
DR: 6 | Format Reviewed: 320 kb/s mp3
Label: Willowtip Records
Websites: dissociaofficial.bandcamp.com/album/to-lift-the-veil | facebook.com/dissociaofficial
Releases Worldwide: March 21st, 2025

#25 #2025 #AmericanMetal #CaligulaSHorse #Cancer #Deathcore #DevinTownsend #Dissocia #ElectronicaMetal #EternalStorm #Gojira #Mar25 #Persefone #ProgressiveMetal #Review #Reviews #Spanish #Synthwave #ToLiftTheVeil #Unreqvited #WillowtipRecords #Wormed

Dissocia – To Lift the Veil Review

By Carcharodon

Dissocia is the brainchild of multi-instrumentalist Daniel R Flys (of Persefone and Eternal Storm) and drummer Gabriel Valcázar (Wormed and Cancer). On their debut, To Lift the Veil, the duo set themselves a challenge: blend extreme metal with synthwave and dreamwave elements to create a catchy, yet unpredictable, blend of genres that come together into a progressive package. Were these two complete unknowns presenting that vision, one would rightly expect a horrifically unlistenable car crash. However, given Flys and Valcázar’s pedigree with their other outfits, I had somewhat higher hopes (albeit with expectations carefully managed) for Dissocia. I’m not entirely sure what dreamwave is, and synthwave is not my go-to, although it has its place1 but, mixed with extreme metal, I envisaged some sort of off-the-wall Devin Townsend craziness happening.

Straight out of the gate, the dancing arpeggio-like guitar line and swelling synths that open “Existentialist” make clear that To Lift the Veil is going to be a wild ride. And so it proves. Across a chaotic 41 minutes and change, Dissocia lurch between progressive melodeath, something that approaches deathcore in a few places (“He Who Dwells”), symphonic synth movements, dreamy Unreqvited-esque sequences and more, the whole often set to weirdly discordant, pulsing rhythms that border on industrial groove. All in all, the album’s structures have the same levels of predictability as the movements of a severely inebriated person crossing an ice rink. This need not necessarily be viewed as a bad thing though. Flys is both a talented guitarist and a versatile vocalist, his harsh vox often recalling Gojira’s Joe Duplantier (“Existentialist”), while his surprisingly delicate cleans, which occasionally wander into Caligula’s Horse territory (“Evasion”), offer a much-needed extra dimension. Similarly, Valcázar’s work on drums is stellar and the sheer unpredictability of this record is part of its charm.

The challenge for Dissocia is to somehow tie the numerous threads of To Lift the Veil into a cohesive tapestry, rather than a ball of yarn. At its strongest, they manage this well. There’s a rabid groove to “Samsara” that it’s almost impossible not to enjoy, while the slow build synth opening to “Zenosyne” gradually unfolds itself, the tension building, before the Flys’ guitar lets loose progressive death riffs and Valcázar unleashes overlapping broadsides behind the kit. This flows well into “The Lucifer Effect,” which similarly shifts between soaring moments of chaos and more reflective passages. While the turn-on-a-dime nature of the craziness does in some ways recall Devin Townsend, it’s not until the heavily distorted screams at the midway point of closer “Out of Slumber” that Hevy Devy really shows through in the vocals.

Not everything on To Lift the Veil works though and, at times, it feels like Dissocia are losing their grasp on the myriad elements of the record. “He Who Dwells” is the most obvious example of this, as the progressive extreme elements, which often mirror opener “Existentialist,” stray into deathcore territory, particularly in Valcázar’s drumming. This simply doesn’t gel with the rest of To Lift the Veil. Equally, the drifting moods of “Evasion” seem rather aimless at times, while Flys’ vocals rather get away from him on closer “Out of Slumber,” which by its end feels like someone desperately trying to claw themselves out of slumber and into wakefulness. The production, also handled by Flys, doesn’t always help, with the drums sometimes seeming to disappear down a hole (middle of “He Who Dwells”) before roaring back to the front of the stage, and the whole thing feeling loud and slightly flat, despite the DR6.

You have to admire the vision and ambition on show on To Lift the Veil, which in other hands would likely have been a hot mess. Far from easing themselves into things on their debut, Dissocia have thrown everything at this record and some of it’s really good (“Samsara” and “Zenosyne”). The stunning artwork by Rein Van Oyen (Haken) gives a sense of the surreal, expansive journey you can expect, but perhaps not the chaotic nature of the ride. I hope Dissocia have a second album in them because, with just a little more refinement and focus to iron out some of the inconsistencies, as well as improve the production a little, there is a helluva lot of very interesting potential here.

Rating: 2.5/5.0
DR: 6 | Format Reviewed: 320 kb/s mp3
Label: Willowtip Records
Websites: dissociaofficial.bandcamp.com/album/to-lift-the-veil | facebook.com/dissociaofficial
Releases Worldwide: March 21st, 2025

#25 #2025 #AmericanMetal #CaligulaSHorse #Cancer #Deathcore #DevinTownsend #Dissocia #ElectronicaMetal #EternalStorm #Gojira #Mar25 #Persefone #ProgressiveMetal #Review #Reviews #Spanish #Synthwave #ToLiftTheVeil #Unreqvited #WillowtipRecords #Wormed

Has it ever happened to you when reading a book, you thought "hey, I heard that passage in a song!"?

"After a while someone asked the expriest if it were true that at one time there had been two moons in the sky and the expriest eyed the false moon above them and said that it may well have been so. But certainly the wise high God in his dismay at the proliferation of lunacy on this earth must have wetted a thumb and leaned down out of the abyss and pinched it hissing into extinction."

#iapetus: The Star of Collapse

https://song.link/2crnj3q5p77m6

#MelodicDeathMetal #ProgressiveDeathMetal

FFO #AtThePlates #EternalStorm #IrreversibleMechanism

#NowPlaying

Has it ever happened to you when reading a book, you thought "hey, I heard that passage in a song!"?

"After a while someone asked the expriest if it were true that at one time there had been two moons in the sky and the expriest eyed the false moon above them and said that it may well have been so. But certainly the wise high God in his dismay at the proliferation of lunacy on this earth must have wetted a thumb and leaned down out of the abyss and pinched it hissing into extinction."

#iapetus: The Star of Collapse

https://song.link/2crnj3q5p77m6

#MelodicDeathMetal #ProgressiveDeathMetal

FFO #AtThePlates #EternalStorm #IrreversibleMechanism

#NowPlaying

Has it ever happened to you when reading a book, you thought "hey, I heard that passage in a song!"?

"After a while someone asked the expriest if it were true that at one time there had been two moons in the sky and the expriest eyed the false moon above them and said that it may well have been so. But certainly the wise high God in his dismay at the proliferation of lunacy on this earth must have wetted a thumb and leaned down out of the abyss and pinched it hissing into extinction."

#iapetus: The Star of Collapse

https://song.link/2crnj3q5p77m6

#MelodicDeathMetal #ProgressiveDeathMetal

FFO #AtThePlates #EternalStorm #IrreversibleMechanism

#NowPlaying

Has it ever happened to you when reading a book, you thought "hey, I heard that passage in a song!"?

"After a while someone asked the expriest if it were true that at one time there had been two moons in the sky and the expriest eyed the false moon above them and said that it may well have been so. But certainly the wise high God in his dismay at the proliferation of lunacy on this earth must have wetted a thumb and leaned down out of the abyss and pinched it hissing into extinction."

#iapetus: The Star of Collapse

https://song.link/2crnj3q5p77m6

#MelodicDeathMetal #ProgressiveDeathMetal

FFO #AtThePlates #EternalStorm #IrreversibleMechanism

#NowPlaying

4/10

#EternalStorm from #Spain 🇪🇸is a mix of #MelodicDeathMetal and #MelodicBlackMetal I would even say a bit #proggy
As many of you listened to this album, needless to say how great is this one.
#AOTY2024 #TentinsReleaseMonth

A Giant Bound to Fall by Eternal Storm (https://album.link/de/i/1716432100)

4/10

#EternalStorm from #Spain 🇪🇸is a mix of #MelodicDeathMetal and #MelodicBlackMetal I would even say a bit #proggy
As many of you listened to this album, needless to say how great is this one.
#AOTY2024 #TentinsReleaseMonth

A Giant Bound to Fall by Eternal Storm (https://album.link/de/i/1716432100)

4/10

#EternalStorm from #Spain 🇪🇸is a mix of #MelodicDeathMetal and #MelodicBlackMetal I would even say a bit #proggy
As many of you listened to this album, needless to say how great is this one.
#AOTY2024 #TentinsReleaseMonth

A Giant Bound to Fall by Eternal Storm (https://album.link/de/i/1716432100)

Also for #ThursDeath:

#Atavistia: Unattained Creation

https://song.link/gttx2pghdjscr

#EpicMelodicSymphonicDeathMetal #MicrogenreingSucks

FFO #DemonicResurrection #EternalStorm #FiresInTheDistance

Also for #ThursDeath:

#Atavistia: Unattained Creation

https://song.link/gttx2pghdjscr

#EpicMelodicSymphonicDeathMetal #MicrogenreingSucks

FFO #DemonicResurrection #EternalStorm #FiresInTheDistance

Also for #ThursDeath:

#Atavistia: Unattained Creation

https://song.link/gttx2pghdjscr

#EpicMelodicSymphonicDeathMetal #MicrogenreingSucks

FFO #DemonicResurrection #EternalStorm #FiresInTheDistance

Octoploid – Beyond the Aeons Review

By Kenstrosity

Let’s play a little game, shall we? If I put a gun to your head, and it’s a big deadly gun, what genre would you guess Finland’s Octoploid play based on the album artwork alone? Yes, I know the genre tags are right under the title of this article. I assume nobody reads those. Anyway, my first assumption viewing the artwork was stoner sludge. I couldn’t have been farther off, and that excited me beyond reason. I had to check it out. Pronto. Immediately after smashing the play button on their debut record Beyond the Aeons, I reveled in absolute joy to discover the deceptive artwork was as much a red herring as I had hoped!

Featuring members of Amorphis, Barren Earth, Mannhai, and Death Mex, Octoploid flex a wide array of music muscles that I don’t normally expect to work together. Progressive melodic death metal at its core, Beyond the Aeons evokes notes of Vulture Industries, Amorphis, Kull, Amon Amarth, Blind the Huntsmen, and In Mourning without outright mimicking any of their respective sounds. Additional, subtle threads of surf rock, pirate metal, and psychedelia brighten the record with whimsical vibrancy as well. In total, Beyond the Aeons feels like an eldritch adventure with all of the fun and none of the horror. Striking an assortment of moods ranging from righteous adventurism (“Human Amoral”) to pensive introspection (“Concealed Serenity”) and everything in between (“The Hollowed Flame”), Octoploid’s debut plays like a concept album, brimming with songwriting dynamics and intriguing twists.

Everything successful about Beyond the Aeons lies in its thoughtful and unexpected details. Opener “The Dawns in Nothingness” takes notes from Vulture Industries’ lead guitar melodies and transmogrifies them into a melodic death metal context, while dramatic organs and Gregorian chants deftly shift the mood of the song in the second half to something darker and more mysterious. Surf rock aesthetics, combined with Kull’s and Amon Amarth’s adventurous spirit, fantastic leads and solos, 80s synthwork, a delightful “la la la” introduction, and a light hit of psychedelia, merge in album standout “Human Amoral.” Delightfully twangy lead guitars and just the right amount of progressive oddities and killer riff passages tie each and every idea together wonderfully here. Simply put, it’s one of the most fun melodic death metal jams of the year. Leaning even harder into progressive metal territory and exploring a meditative side to Octoploid’s sound, “The Hallowed Flame” represents a fascinating combination of Blind the Huntsmen’s intelligent construction, Eternal Storm‘s emotional drama, and Vulture Industries’ sultry grooves. Thankfully, I don’t leave this experience despondent, thanks to closing hit “A Dusk of Vex.” Its high-energy swagger ends the record with a sort of exuberance that motivates me to hit that replay button right away, just so I can experience the whole journey again knowing I’ll get to jig with “Dusk in Vex” one more time on my way out.

Everything unsuccessful about Beyond the Aeons lies in missed opportunities. The most obvious example of this drawback, interlude “Beyond the Aeons” could’ve been a gorgeous psychedelic palette cleanser between Beyond the Aeon’s two acts. Alas, it merely jams for a brief minute before moving on. “Concealed Serenity,” coming in near the end of the runtime, lacks a compelling musical backbone to carry its somber weight. It could have been a beautiful way to further develop the smooth transition into more mournful territory introduced by “The Hallowed Flame,” but sullies the opportunity with lackluster riffs and a weak chorus. Musically, “Coast of the Drowned Sailors” and “Shattered Wings” constitute excellent pieces of whimsical death metal with righteous guitar shreddery and killer grooves, but the vocals in these tracks don’t quite clear the same high bar. Competent and well-fitting though he is, Octoploid’s vocalist had an opportunity to take more or greater risks for an even bigger payoff in these numbers. He just didn’t take them. Lastly, Beyond the Aeons is loud. Well-mixed, but loud. I would’ve enjoyed the record even more if the engineers traded in a bit of compression for an airier soundstage that allowed its multitudinous layers to breathe with even greater vitality.

Despite my critiques, I am unreasonably excited by Octoploid’s debut. It represents a side of the melodic and progressive death metal scenes that I don’t hear often, and I want so much more. Beyond the Aeon is professional, whimsical, immense fun, and dynamic to boot. That’s a rare combination. If you’re looking for something familiar, but different, Beyond the Aeons is the album for you!

Rating: Good!
DR: 5 | Format Reviewed: 320 kb/s mp3
Label: Reigning Phoenix Music
Website: facebook.com/octoploidmusic
Releases Worldwide: July 5th, 2024

#2024 #30 #Aeternam #AmonAmarth #Amorphis #BeyondTheAeons #BlindTheHuntsmen #DeathMetal #EternalStorm #FinnishMetal #InMourning #Jul24 #Kull #MelodicDeathMetal #Octoploid #Opeth #ProgressiveDeathMetal #ProgressiveMetal #PsychedelicRock #ReigningPhoenixMusic #Review #Reviews #SurfRock #VultureIndustries

Octoploid – Beyond the Aeons Review

By Kenstrosity

Let’s play a little game, shall we? If I put a gun to your head, and it’s a big deadly gun, what genre would you guess Finland’s Octoploid play based on the album artwork alone? Yes, I know the genre tags are right under the title of this article. I assume nobody reads those. Anyway, my first assumption viewing the artwork was stoner sludge. I couldn’t have been farther off, and that excited me beyond reason. I had to check it out. Pronto. Immediately after smashing the play button on their debut record Beyond the Aeons, I reveled in absolute joy to discover the deceptive artwork was as much a red herring as I had hoped!

Featuring members of Amorphis, Barren Earth, Mannhai, and Death Mex, Octoploid flex a wide array of music muscles that I don’t normally expect to work together. Progressive melodic death metal at its core, Beyond the Aeons evokes notes of Vulture Industries, Amorphis, Kull, Amon Amarth, Blind the Huntsmen, and In Mourning without outright mimicking any of their respective sounds. Additional, subtle threads of surf rock, pirate metal, and psychedelia brighten the record with whimsical vibrancy as well. In total, Beyond the Aeons feels like an eldritch adventure with all of the fun and none of the horror. Striking an assortment of moods ranging from righteous adventurism (“Human Amoral”) to pensive introspection (“Concealed Serenity”) and everything in between (“The Hollowed Flame”), Octoploid’s debut plays like a concept album, brimming with songwriting dynamics and intriguing twists.

Everything successful about Beyond the Aeons lies in its thoughtful and unexpected details. Opener “The Dawns in Nothingness” takes notes from Vulture Industries’ lead guitar melodies and transmogrifies them into a melodic death metal context, while dramatic organs and Gregorian chants deftly shift the mood of the song in the second half to something darker and more mysterious. Surf rock aesthetics, combined with Kull’s and Amon Amarth’s adventurous spirit, fantastic leads and solos, 80s synthwork, a delightful “la la la” introduction, and a light hit of psychedelia, merge in album standout “Human Amoral.” Delightfully twangy lead guitars and just the right amount of progressive oddities and killer riff passages tie each and every idea together wonderfully here. Simply put, it’s one of the most fun melodic death metal jams of the year. Leaning even harder into progressive metal territory and exploring a meditative side to Octoploid’s sound, “The Hallowed Flame” represents a fascinating combination of Blind the Huntsmen’s intelligent construction, Eternal Storm‘s emotional drama, and Vulture Industries’ sultry grooves. Thankfully, I don’t leave this experience despondent, thanks to closing hit “A Dusk of Vex.” Its high-energy swagger ends the record with a sort of exuberance that motivates me to hit that replay button right away, just so I can experience the whole journey again knowing I’ll get to jig with “Dusk in Vex” one more time on my way out.

Everything unsuccessful about Beyond the Aeons lies in missed opportunities. The most obvious example of this drawback, interlude “Beyond the Aeons” could’ve been a gorgeous psychedelic palette cleanser between Beyond the Aeon’s two acts. Alas, it merely jams for a brief minute before moving on. “Concealed Serenity,” coming in near the end of the runtime, lacks a compelling musical backbone to carry its somber weight. It could have been a beautiful way to further develop the smooth transition into more mournful territory introduced by “The Hallowed Flame,” but sullies the opportunity with lackluster riffs and a weak chorus. Musically, “Coast of the Drowned Sailors” and “Shattered Wings” constitute excellent pieces of whimsical death metal with righteous guitar shreddery and killer grooves, but the vocals in these tracks don’t quite clear the same high bar. Competent and well-fitting though he is, Octoploid’s vocalist had an opportunity to take more or greater risks for an even bigger payoff in these numbers. He just didn’t take them. Lastly, Beyond the Aeons is loud. Well-mixed, but loud. I would’ve enjoyed the record even more if the engineers traded in a bit of compression for an airier soundstage that allowed its multitudinous layers to breathe with even greater vitality.

Despite my critiques, I am unreasonably excited by Octoploid’s debut. It represents a side of the melodic and progressive death metal scenes that I don’t hear often, and I want so much more. Beyond the Aeon is professional, whimsical, immense fun, and dynamic to boot. That’s a rare combination. If you’re looking for something familiar, but different, Beyond the Aeons is the album for you!

Rating: Good!
DR: 5 | Format Reviewed: 320 kb/s mp3
Label: Reigning Phoenix Music
Website: facebook.com/octoploidmusic
Releases Worldwide: July 5th, 2024

#2024 #30 #Aeternam #AmonAmarth #Amorphis #BeyondTheAeons #BlindTheHuntsmen #DeathMetal #EternalStorm #FinnishMetal #InMourning #Jul24 #Kull #MelodicDeathMetal #Octoploid #Opeth #ProgressiveDeathMetal #ProgressiveMetal #PsychedelicRock #ReigningPhoenixMusic #Review #Reviews #SurfRock #VultureIndustries

Aujourd'hui sur Blog à part –

Eternal Storm: A Giant Bound to Fall

Ces derniers jours, ce sont les formations de death-prog qui débarquent dans mes oreilles. Témoin Eternal Storm, avec cet album A Giant Bound to Fall.

#deathMetal #Espagne #EternalStorm #metalProgressif

https://wp.me/ppneF-aP7

AMG’s Unsigned Band Rodeö: Veriteras – The Dark Horizon

By Dolphin Whisperer

“AMG’s Unsigned Band Rodeö” is a time-honored tradition to showcase the most underground of the underground—the unsigned and unpromoted. This collective review treatment continues to exist to unite our writers in boot or bolster of the bands who remind us that, for better or worse, the metal underground exists as an important part of the global metal scene. The Rodeö rides on.”

Founded in 2018, Veriteras has a very simple mission, to produce melodeath! Hailing from the renowned hot bed of heavy, Seattle, Washington, these Scandinavian-inspired songsmiths offer their sophomore outing with the same energy from which they initially debuted—that’s to say, mostly, that there’s little in the way of frills here. But with a guest tambourine performance and production courtesy of the fabled Dan Swanö (formerly of Edge of Sanity and so much more), is there more to The Dark Horizon than meets the eye? Travel to the edge with our brave rodeö staffers and find out! – Dolphin Whisperer

Veriteras // The Dark Horizon [April 11th, 2024]

Steel Druhm: Seattle-based symphonic melodeath act Veriteras are really inspired by classic Scandinavian melodeath, especially the stuff that was released in the aughts. On their sophomore outing The Dark Horizon you’ll hear tons of influences from Kalmah, Wintersun, and Norther leaking into their energetic output. The good news is that Veriteras execute the style well, delivering high-octane cuts that sound like they’re from a different era. The bad news is the material sounds like it’s from a now stale era you’ve heard a million times. That doesn’t necessarily ruin the good times though. Tracks like opener “Certainty” blast forth like prime Kalmah with riffs flying, drums thundering, and keyboards blaring. It’s a formula that worked in 2002 and still kinda works. The best cuts either bowl you over with hyper-kinetic thrash polka (“Celestial Darkness, “Manufactured Dreams”) or soar into the night skies with epic blackened majesty à la Wintersun (“Blinding”). “Blinding” in particular is surprisingly sticky, glorious, and regal. The fact that all the songs sit in the two-to-four minute pocket while the album runs an anorexic thirty-one minutes adds to the high-speed sugar rush. The guitar work is classy, the vocals have ample bite, and the keyboards are overweening and cheese-coated. A lovely production courtesy of Dan “the fucking MAN” Swanö doesn’t hurt none either. You won’t hear anything new here, but Veriteras dish up a nostalgic blast of catchy ear-cheese with polish and pomp aplenty. Since we likely won’t be getting Time II until the very end of time, this can fill the Wintersun void some folks have in their wretched lives. 3.0/5.0

Doom et Al: Ah, melodeath. A tough sub-genre because everyone has their own idea about how much “melo” and how much “death” constitutes the ideal balance for a band. If you’re on the “I like things on the melodic end of the spectrum—gimme that Jester Race goodness!” then Seattle based band, Veriteras, and their sophomore full-length, The Dark Horizon, should be right up your alley. Delivering some old-school, hyper-melodic melodeath, this is an impressive showing, managing to sound catchy and epic without the tendency to slip into a power metal cheese vat. At its best, the album reminds us why those early melodeath bands were so popular—it’s fun, energetic and never loses momentum. Stand-outs include the jaunty “Sanctuary,” the rollickin’ “Manufactured Dreams” and my personal favorite, “Blinding.” Criticisms include a slightly monotone vocal performance, a crushed production I don’t love, and perhaps an over-reliance on an existing aesthetic. Nevertheless, this is a grand ole time and some of the more entertaining melodeath I’ve heard this year. A band with huge potential. 3.0/5.0

Dear Hollow: I’m not much of a Kalmah dweeb and I’m not the biggest melodeath fan, but the likes of Wintersun,1 In Mourning and Eternal Storm have cemented themselves into the hall of Hollow. Likewise, Veriteras creates a tasty blend of infectious earworms against a backdrop of crunchy rhythms that brings the emotion and warfare in equal measure. Rock-solid writing that puts melody first and all else second is a smart move for this, as tracks like “Certainty,” “Abyss,” and “Blinding” deal in traditional Dark Tranquillity blends of melodic runs tinged with Gothenburg sensibilities, while “Celestial Darkness” embraces the folky 6/8 waltz of Elvenking. The one-two punch of “Sanctuary” and “Manufactured Dreams” contains the most memorable riffs and absolutely infectious melodies that linger like a fever you don’t want rid of. While the vast majority of The Dark Horizon offers bulletproof melodeath, “Last Rites” and “Retrograde” fall short with frailer melodies that don’t stick, while the folky proceedings of “Celestial Darkness” are an island unto itself—all wrapped up in a production that feels a tad paper-thin and muddled (i.e. the chugs of “Light in the Darkness” feel too weak). Overall, Veriteras is fun as hell, offering melodic ear candy aplenty that’ll rot your earteeth2 if you’re not careful. 2.5/5.0

Felagund: Rightly or wrongly, I’ve grown to view most anything labeled “melodic death metal” with suspicion. While it used to be a go-to genre tag, I’ve been burned too many times by “melodeath” bands that are less At the Gates and more watered-down, uninspired metalcore boasting a few clean choruses. Thankfully, Veriteras doesn’t fall into that trap on this second full-length The Dark Horizon. They’ve delivered a solid platter, one with plenty of melodeath heft, with some blackened shrieks and symphonic elements for good measure. The Dark Horizon is indeed a satisfactory sophomore effort. Things fall flat for me, however, when the band begins to lean so heavily into the “melodic” part of “melodic death metal” that they break on through to the power metal side. I noted a faint whiff of cheese on “Celestial Darkness,” but it becomes a noticeable dairy deluge on the ironically-titled, happy-time tune “Abyss,” “Last Rights” with its power metal cleans, and “Manufactured Dreams,” which sounds like the soundtrack to your very own seafaring quest. These choices don’t make for a bad album, but it’s certainly not what I’m looking for in my narrow-minded view of modern day melodeath. I’m sure there are any number of Fellowship fans who will read this blurb and question if I actually know what power metal is. But there are various kinds of cheese, and they all don’t have to be Limburger to qualify. I’ll keep the tremelo, the chugging riffs, and the blackened vocals, but next time, I think I’ll order my Veriteras without the side of melo-mozzarella. 2.5/5.0

#2024 #AmericanMetal #AngryMetalGuySUnsignedBandRodeo #AngryMetalGuySUnsignedBandRodeo2024 #Apr24 #DarkTranquillity #DeathMetal #Elvenking #EternalStorm #InMourning #IndependentRelease #Kalmah #MelodicDeathMetal #Norther #SelfRelease #TheDarkHorizon #Veriteras #Wintersun

AMG’s Unsigned Band Rodeö: Veriteras – The Dark Horizon

By Dolphin Whisperer

“AMG’s Unsigned Band Rodeö” is a time-honored tradition to showcase the most underground of the underground—the unsigned and unpromoted. This collective review treatment continues to exist to unite our writers in boot or bolster of the bands who remind us that, for better or worse, the metal underground exists as an important part of the global metal scene. The Rodeö rides on.”

Founded in 2018, Veriteras has a very simple mission, to produce melodeath! Hailing from the renowned hot bed of heavy, Seattle, Washington, these Scandinavian-inspired songsmiths offer their sophomore outing with the same energy from which they initially debuted—that’s to say, mostly, that there’s little in the way of frills here. But with a guest tambourine performance and production courtesy of the fabled Dan Swanö (formerly of Edge of Sanity and so much more), is there more to The Dark Horizon than meets the eye? Travel to the edge with our brave rodeö staffers and find out! – Dolphin Whisperer

Veriteras // The Dark Horizon [April 11th, 2024]

Steel Druhm: Seattle-based symphonic melodeath act Veriteras are really inspired by classic Scandinavian melodeath, especially the stuff that was released in the aughts. On their sophomore outing The Dark Horizon you’ll hear tons of influences from Kalmah, Wintersun, and Norther leaking into their energetic output. The good news is that Veriteras execute the style well, delivering high-octane cuts that sound like they’re from a different era. The bad news is the material sounds like it’s from a now stale era you’ve heard a million times. That doesn’t necessarily ruin the good times though. Tracks like opener “Certainty” blast forth like prime Kalmah with riffs flying, drums thundering, and keyboards blaring. It’s a formula that worked in 2002 and still kinda works. The best cuts either bowl you over with hyper-kinetic thrash polka (“Celestial Darkness, “Manufactured Dreams”) or soar into the night skies with epic blackened majesty à la Wintersun (“Blinding”). “Blinding” in particular is surprisingly sticky, glorious, and regal. The fact that all the songs sit in the two-to-four minute pocket while the album runs an anorexic thirty-one minutes adds to the high-speed sugar rush. The guitar work is classy, the vocals have ample bite, and the keyboards are overweening and cheese-coated. A lovely production courtesy of Dan “the fucking MAN” Swanö doesn’t hurt none either. You won’t hear anything new here, but Veriteras dish up a nostalgic blast of catchy ear-cheese with polish and pomp aplenty. Since we likely won’t be getting Time II until the very end of time, this can fill the Wintersun void some folks have in their wretched lives. 3.0/5.0

Doom et Al: Ah, melodeath. A tough sub-genre because everyone has their own idea about how much “melo” and how much “death” constitutes the ideal balance for a band. If you’re on the “I like things on the melodic end of the spectrum—gimme that Jester Race goodness!” then Seattle based band, Veriteras, and their sophomore full-length, The Dark Horizon, should be right up your alley. Delivering some old-school, hyper-melodic melodeath, this is an impressive showing, managing to sound catchy and epic without the tendency to slip into a power metal cheese vat. At its best, the album reminds us why those early melodeath bands were so popular—it’s fun, energetic and never loses momentum. Stand-outs include the jaunty “Sanctuary,” the rollickin’ “Manufactured Dreams” and my personal favorite, “Blinding.” Criticisms include a slightly monotone vocal performance, a crushed production I don’t love, and perhaps an over-reliance on an existing aesthetic. Nevertheless, this is a grand ole time and some of the more entertaining melodeath I’ve heard this year. A band with huge potential. 3.0/5.0

Dear Hollow: I’m not much of a Kalmah dweeb and I’m not the biggest melodeath fan, but the likes of Wintersun,1 In Mourning and Eternal Storm have cemented themselves into the hall of Hollow. Likewise, Veriteras creates a tasty blend of infectious earworms against a backdrop of crunchy rhythms that brings the emotion and warfare in equal measure. Rock-solid writing that puts melody first and all else second is a smart move for this, as tracks like “Certainty,” “Abyss,” and “Blinding” deal in traditional Dark Tranquillity blends of melodic runs tinged with Gothenburg sensibilities, while “Celestial Darkness” embraces the folky 6/8 waltz of Elvenking. The one-two punch of “Sanctuary” and “Manufactured Dreams” contains the most memorable riffs and absolutely infectious melodies that linger like a fever you don’t want rid of. While the vast majority of The Dark Horizon offers bulletproof melodeath, “Last Rites” and “Retrograde” fall short with frailer melodies that don’t stick, while the folky proceedings of “Celestial Darkness” are an island unto itself—all wrapped up in a production that feels a tad paper-thin and muddled (i.e. the chugs of “Light in the Darkness” feel too weak). Overall, Veriteras is fun as hell, offering melodic ear candy aplenty that’ll rot your earteeth2 if you’re not careful. 2.5/5.0

Felagund: Rightly or wrongly, I’ve grown to view most anything labeled “melodic death metal” with suspicion. While it used to be a go-to genre tag, I’ve been burned too many times by “melodeath” bands that are less At the Gates and more watered-down, uninspired metalcore boasting a few clean choruses. Thankfully, Veriteras doesn’t fall into that trap on this second full-length The Dark Horizon. They’ve delivered a solid platter, one with plenty of melodeath heft, with some blackened shrieks and symphonic elements for good measure. The Dark Horizon is indeed a satisfactory sophomore effort. Things fall flat for me, however, when the band begins to lean so heavily into the “melodic” part of “melodic death metal” that they break on through to the power metal side. I noted a faint whiff of cheese on “Celestial Darkness,” but it becomes a noticeable dairy deluge on the ironically-titled, happy-time tune “Abyss,” “Last Rights” with its power metal cleans, and “Manufactured Dreams,” which sounds like the soundtrack to your very own seafaring quest. These choices don’t make for a bad album, but it’s certainly not what I’m looking for in my narrow-minded view of modern day melodeath. I’m sure there are any number of Fellowship fans who will read this blurb and question if I actually know what power metal is. But there are various kinds of cheese, and they all don’t have to be Limburger to qualify. I’ll keep the tremelo, the chugging riffs, and the blackened vocals, but next time, I think I’ll order my Veriteras without the side of melo-mozzarella. 2.5/5.0

#2024 #AmericanMetal #AngryMetalGuySUnsignedBandRodeo #AngryMetalGuySUnsignedBandRodeo2024 #Apr24 #DarkTranquillity #DeathMetal #Elvenking #EternalStorm #InMourning #IndependentRelease #Kalmah #MelodicDeathMetal #Norther #SelfRelease #TheDarkHorizon #Veriteras #Wintersun

#NowPlaying #EternalStorm

I was a bit late for this train, I had this band several times in my bookmarks. Finally at the weekend I was able to check it.
It landed instantly on my #AOTY2024 list

https://album.link/de/i/1716432100

#NowPlaying #EternalStorm

I was a bit late for this train, I had this band several times in my bookmarks. Finally at the weekend I was able to check it.
It landed instantly on my #AOTY2024 list

https://album.link/de/i/1716432100

#NowPlaying #EternalStorm

I was a bit late for this train, I had this band several times in my bookmarks. Finally at the weekend I was able to check it.
It landed instantly on my #AOTY2024 list

https://album.link/de/i/1716432100

Eternal Storm – A Giant Bound to Fall Review

By Cherd

I’ve said this before, but it bears repeating: unless you make funeral doom, you probably don’t have a great reason for making a 70+ minute metal album. Yes, there are exceptions to every rule, like the Spectral Lore/Mare Cognitum double album a few years back. That one worked because A) the material, against the odds, kicked ass throughout, and B) the concept was to write an album about the whole goddamn solar system. It was cosmic in scale, literally. But for every Wanderers: Astrology of the Nine, there are 10 more Esoctrilihum records that I will never listen to, at this point on principle. Even artists I love—looking at you, Panopticon—have recently taxed my goodwill with mammoth platters of new material for seemingly no reason other than they could. With the accelerated proliferation of super longboi albums, I’m less inclined than ever to wade through acres of faffing to get to 30 or 40 minutes of good material. In completely unrelated news, Spanish melodeath-ers Eternal Storm grace us this week with their highly anticipated second album, A Giant Bound to Fall. Thankfully, they keep their album length to a reasonable (checks notes)…oh dear.

Before we further belabor that point, let’s note the evolution of Eternal Storm’s sound since their impressive 2019 debut Come the Tide. Where that record was first and foremost melodeath that leaned progressive, A Giant Bound to Fall has fully succumbed to the Opethification that comes for all such bands. First track “The Abyss of Unreason” stands as a thesis statement for what these Spaniards are going for on this outing, sprawling out over 13 minutes of riffs that remain pleasantly melodic, multiple textural wrinkles that include some saxomophone and electronic beeps and bleeps, and no fewer than three false endings before all is said and done. A Giant Bound to Fall has reversed the poles to prog first, melodeath second, while retaining the skillful musicianship of Come the Tide. The production is noticeably clean and slick. This would normally turn me off a bit, but it makes sense here given the textural sound experiments that permeate the album.

There’s a lot to like about the new sonic territories Eternal Storm stake out. The melodic riffs go down smooth on tracks like “The Abyss of Unreason” and “Last Refuge,” while the one-two punch of album standouts “The Sleepers” and “The Void” highlight a multi-layered vocal approach of harmonized cleans that can drone and soar in turn, as well as throat shredding death roars and vein-popping shrieks that edge into -core territory. “The Void” hits especially hard, taking the central melody and chorus of “The Sleepers” and setting it on fire with an aggression only hinted at in previous songs. Strategically placed throughout A Giant Bound to Fall are those electronic flourishes and surprising instrumental transitions mentioned above. Case in point is the final 30 seconds of “Last Refuge” with its whooshing synths and vocoder-like vocals that bleed into the gorgeously simple piano line that opens instrumental interlude “The Eclipse.”

Eternal Storm’s 2019 debut Come the Tide wasn’t exactly short at 59 minutes, but it had a natural flow that never tried my patience. Unfortunately, this is not the case with A Giant Bound to Fall. There’s fat to trim throughout, even in songs I really like. Cutting thirty seconds here or there would help this record feel like less of a chore, but there are two stretches in particular that set my mind wandering. While “There Was a Wall” is relatively short at five minutes, its mid-paced meandering is noticeably weaker than the material that comes before it. “Last Refuge” then starts off strong with easy riffing and a path-of-least-resistance flow until the back half falls off a cliff and into four full minutes of uninspired, repetitive chugging that kills any momentum stone-dead. Nothing that follows is as bad as that stretch, but the nearly 10-minute “Lone Tree Domain” is so interchangeable with a track like “A Dim Illusion” that it could be cut completely.

Eternal Storm haven’t lost any of the talent that made Come the Tide a surprise hit five years ago, but if they thought such a long gap between releases necessitated including more material by volume on A Giant Bound to Fall, I’m afraid I’d have to disagree. There’s some fantastic material here, but as Bilbo would say, it’s “like butter that has been scraped over too much bread.” Prog nerds will likely find little problem with the new musical direction, so mileage may vary. As for me, I’ll remain the voice in the wilderness decrying bloated runtimes, even when the music is good.

Rating: 3.0/5.0
DR: 8 | Format Reviewed: 320 kbps mp3
Label: Transcending Obscurity
Websites: eternalstormdm.bandcamp.com | facebook.com/eternalstormofficial
Releases Worldwide: February 16th, 2024

#2024 #30 #AGiantBoundToFall #DeathMetal #EternalStorm #Feb24 #MelodicDeathMetal #Opeth #ProgressiveDeathMetal #Review #Reviews #SpanishMetal #TranscendingObscurityRecords

Eternal Storm – A Giant Bound to Fall Review

By Cherd

I’ve said this before, but it bears repeating: unless you make funeral doom, you probably don’t have a great reason for making a 70+ minute metal album. Yes, there are exceptions to every rule, like the Spectral Lore/Mare Cognitum double album a few years back. That one worked because A) the material, against the odds, kicked ass throughout, and B) the concept was to write an album about the whole goddamn solar system. It was cosmic in scale, literally. But for every Wanderers: Astrology of the Nine, there are 10 more Esoctrilihum records that I will never listen to, at this point on principle. Even artists I love—looking at you, Panopticon—have recently taxed my goodwill with mammoth platters of new material for seemingly no reason other than they could. With the accelerated proliferation of super longboi albums, I’m less inclined than ever to wade through acres of faffing to get to 30 or 40 minutes of good material. In completely unrelated news, Spanish melodeath-ers Eternal Storm grace us this week with their highly anticipated second album, A Giant Bound to Fall. Thankfully, they keep their album length to a reasonable (checks notes)…oh dear.

Before we further belabor that point, let’s note the evolution of Eternal Storm’s sound since their impressive 2019 debut Come the Tide. Where that record was first and foremost melodeath that leaned progressive, A Giant Bound to Fall has fully succumbed to the Opethification that comes for all such bands. First track “The Abyss of Unreason” stands as a thesis statement for what these Spaniards are going for on this outing, sprawling out over 13 minutes of riffs that remain pleasantly melodic, multiple textural wrinkles that include some saxomophone and electronic beeps and bleeps, and no fewer than three false endings before all is said and done. A Giant Bound to Fall has reversed the poles to prog first, melodeath second, while retaining the skillful musicianship of Come the Tide. The production is noticeably clean and slick. This would normally turn me off a bit, but it makes sense here given the textural sound experiments that permeate the album.

There’s a lot to like about the new sonic territories Eternal Storm stake out. The melodic riffs go down smooth on tracks like “The Abyss of Unreason” and “Last Refuge,” while the one-two punch of album standouts “The Sleepers” and “The Void” highlight a multi-layered vocal approach of harmonized cleans that can drone and soar in turn, as well as throat shredding death roars and vein-popping shrieks that edge into -core territory. “The Void” hits especially hard, taking the central melody and chorus of “The Sleepers” and setting it on fire with an aggression only hinted at in previous songs. Strategically placed throughout A Giant Bound to Fall are those electronic flourishes and surprising instrumental transitions mentioned above. Case in point is the final 30 seconds of “Last Refuge” with its whooshing synths and vocoder-like vocals that bleed into the gorgeously simple piano line that opens instrumental interlude “The Eclipse.”

Eternal Storm’s 2019 debut Come the Tide wasn’t exactly short at 59 minutes, but it had a natural flow that never tried my patience. Unfortunately, this is not the case with A Giant Bound to Fall. There’s fat to trim throughout, even in songs I really like. Cutting thirty seconds here or there would help this record feel like less of a chore, but there are two stretches in particular that set my mind wandering. While “There Was a Wall” is relatively short at five minutes, its mid-paced meandering is noticeably weaker than the material that comes before it. “Last Refuge” then starts off strong with easy riffing and a path-of-least-resistance flow until the back half falls off a cliff and into four full minutes of uninspired, repetitive chugging that kills any momentum stone-dead. Nothing that follows is as bad as that stretch, but the nearly 10-minute “Lone Tree Domain” is so interchangeable with a track like “A Dim Illusion” that it could be cut completely.

Eternal Storm haven’t lost any of the talent that made Come the Tide a surprise hit five years ago, but if they thought such a long gap between releases necessitated including more material by volume on A Giant Bound to Fall, I’m afraid I’d have to disagree. There’s some fantastic material here, but as Bilbo would say, it’s “like butter that has been scraped over too much bread.” Prog nerds will likely find little problem with the new musical direction, so mileage may vary. As for me, I’ll remain the voice in the wilderness decrying bloated runtimes, even when the music is good.

Rating: 3.0/5.0
DR: 8 | Format Reviewed: 320 kbps mp3
Label: Transcending Obscurity
Websites: eternalstormdm.bandcamp.com | facebook.com/eternalstormofficial
Releases Worldwide: February 16th, 2024

#2024 #30 #AGiantBoundToFall #DeathMetal #EternalStorm #Feb24 #MelodicDeathMetal #Opeth #ProgressiveDeathMetal #Review #Reviews #SpanishMetal #TranscendingObscurityRecords