The debut full length from this North Carolina band finds them entering the fray with speedy double bass driven melo-death. The guitars are harmonized and coasting at a rabid chug with some limber bass playing filling the gaps underneath it though the general mix is more tight and mid range rather than the heavy bass resonance that could have given their overall sound more density. While the second song seems to weave it's guitar melodies around you in a effective manner it lacks the aggression that song that follows carries. By the time we are at "Black Ocean " you are getting drowned in the guitar solo before something meaner happens mood wise. An instrumental interlude comes before "Longhammer" This is a guitar players album. The guitars sound great, the vocals stay in a mid range rasp.
While the guitar is certainly ripping, some of the more melodic elements tone down the intensity and make this feel more like power metal to me. These guys are looking to be cut from the same mold as Amon Amarth, but don't have the muscle to their sound. The guitars in a few places feel like bees buzzing around one another. The layered attack of the guitar gets more attention. This is supposed to be a concept album but the lyrics tend to paint a rather vague picture with your typical metal metaphors. There is a more mainstream metal groove on "Final Right" which shows the drummer's prowess.
Vocals aside the band does not have a weak link in terms talent, they are not so caught in the math making up the riffs that this could really be thought of as technical death metal, though there is a strong progressive under current in the arrangements and the interplay of guitars, The guitar solos alone would be appealing to those who want more bells and whistles to their death metal and fans of the more middle of the road styles of metal will find this is not to abrasive on their ears.
Battle Through Time will be released on Jan 27th!