Progressive Death Metal

    • Posted By: Dark Emperor
    • Comments: 0

    Odradek Room – A Man of Silt (2017)

    cover

    With a keen eye for unique and boundary pushing release, today we have the latest Hypnotic Dirge Records release with Odradek Room’s sophomore album “A Man of Silt”. Unleashing over 50 minutes of superbly crafted Progressive Death/Doom Metal, this band merges influences from bands like Anathema and Opeth with lush instrumentations and a very somber mood. If you like complex music with high replay value, this is certainly one of the best releases in 2017 for that.

    The intro “Arising in the Void” provides a very dark and somber opening into the band’s unique musical voyage adorned with an Armenian duduk. The release continues to blossom with the transition into heavy guitars and growls in “Selfness”, a 7-minute piece that sets the experimental proggy tone for this album. Hailing from Ukraine, the band crafts very unique songs filled with highly atmospheric passages that are quite intricate and yet lush and filled with emotion, as delivered in “Texture of Reality”.

    • Posted By: Dark Emperor
    • Comments: 0

    In Mourning – Afterglow (2016)

    cover

    Four years in the making, today we have In Mourning and their killer “Afterglow” release. Featuring 56 minutes of music divided in seven tracks, the band continues to move into Progressive/Melodic Death Metal territory with this brilliant album. Showcasing influences of bands like Kalmah mixed in with elements of October Tide and other more experimental outfits, this release is definitely one of the band’s best.

    Opening with the superb melodies of “Fire and Ocean”, the band starts the release with a heavy headbanging dose. Nicely bleeding into “The Grinning Mist”, the melodic atmosphere is very well crafted and oozes to the traditional In Mourning signature sound with a few progressive elements thrown into the mix, such as the intricate bass guitar line and killer tempo changes.

    • Posted By: Dark Emperor
    • Comments: 0

    Fallujah – Dreamless (2016)

    cover

    Continue their evolution into more Progressive and atmospheric territories, today we have Fallujah and their third full-length release “Dreamless”. While the band explores more melodic ideas, their Deathcore nucleus is still intact and will kick your ass in a minute. Searching for the perfect balance between sheer brutality and musical acrobatics, the band delivers twelve solid tracks that show how much they have matured since their 2011 debut release.

    Opening with the brutal “Face of Death”, the band commands their attention with perfectly balanced Deathcore-esque growls and ethereal atmospheric elements. Bleeding into the more Progressive and melodic “Adrenaline”, the band nicely transition between styles while showcasing their musical creativity. Our personal favorite is the dreamy “The Void Alone”, which features a superb combination of clean female vocals, intricate drum patterns and pummeling guitar riffs.

    • Posted By: Dark Emperor
    • Comments: 0

    Obscura – Akróasis (2016)

    cover

    Brilliantly returning with eight highly intricate tracks, today we have Obscura and their latest acrobatic effort “Akróasis”. Featuring completely new line-up since last release, Steffen Kummerer manages to again gather a stellar group of musicians and delivers another Obscura-quality release. If you like Technical/Progressive Death Metal, we highly doubt that there will be a better album in 2016.

    Opening with the brilliant “Sermon of the Seven Suns”, we instantly notice that the band’s trademark sound is intact and yet it feels slightly evolved with cleaner and melodic passages. The playful back-and-forth between instruments is insanely well crafted making songs like the opener and the heavier “The Monoist” (among others) sound amazingly elaborate and tricky. The vocal effects of songs like “Ten Sepiroth” give the band a certain Cynic edge. Additionally this track features some killer bass guitar sections.

    • Posted By: Dark Emperor
    • Comments: 0

    Kera – Kera (2015)

    cover

    With a flourishing Metal musical scene in France delivering very diverse bands like Gojira, Dagoba and Alcest among many others, it is quite refreshing to hear a promising Progressive Death Metal band named Kera. With this self-titled EP, the band explores an interesting experimental take on Death Metal with some solid progressive elements and a knack for melodic brilliance.

    Opening with the pummeling “Masters Enslaved”, we are treated to excellent riffing that is quite crafty in nature and perfectly rounds of the well-tailored drum patterns. The vocals have that old-school raspy vibe, not necessarily the cleanest growls, but they get the job done. The second track, “Architect of Chaos” is probably the band’s most straightforward song blistering leads and a very playful melodic approach.

    • Posted By: Dark Emperor
    • Comments: 0

    September Murder - He Who Invokes Decadence (2013)

    cover

    Germany has always been one of the best countries for Metal music to flourish over the years, with a huge scene and tons of quality bands emerging every year. Today we have September Murder and their sophomore release “He Who Invokes Decadence”. Delivering eight tracks of high quality Melodic/Progressive Death Metal, this band is ready for prime time and they have a very convincing case with this impressive release.

    The album’s opening statement is “Under Severed Skies”, an excellent track that combines heavy intricate guitar work and crushing growls. The band is in no hurry of blasting you away, opting to deliver precise blows of hyper-fast sections surrounded by excellent melodic passages. The band’s old-school Death Metal influences are clear, but they manage to clean them up with incise guitar and bass guitar work in killer tracks like “Two Culprits, One Oath” and Death-esque “Among Vultures”.

    • Posted By: Dark Emperor
    • Comments: 0

    Wall of the Eyeless – Wimfolsfestta (2013)

    cover

    One of the most rewarding things about reviewing music for Infernal Masquerade is the ability to discover excellent bands like Wall of The Eyeless. Having extremely liked their first demo “Through Emptiness”, we are pleased to receive their newest 4-song demo release “Wimfolsfestta”. Delivering over 25 minutes of intricate Progressive Death Metal, this band seems to have all the potential to be signed by any mayor Metal music label in the world.

    “Flicker” is the first track on this release and it delivers a nearly 10-minute emotional ride through excellent riffs, tight drumming, and an effective combination of growls and clean vocals. The band’s ability to create intricate compositions that weave back and forth from melodic passages into aggressive sections is quite excellent and it is perfectly showcased in this song. “The Longest Winter” comes in with a faster and more direct approach. Keeping the melodic side of things always present, this track nicely combines merciless riffs with powerful growls.

    • Posted By: Dark Emperor
    • Comments: 0

    Okular – Sexforce (2013)

    cover

    Coming along with quite a set of positive reviews for their earlier work, today we have Norway’s Okular and their sophomore release “Sexforce”. Playing an interesting mixture of Progressive Death Metal with some Melodic DM elements, this band is full of creative and unique ideas, too bad they can’t seem to really work them together in a cohesive manner. Besides the obvious musical quality, this release features guest appearances by Athera (Susperia) on seven tracks and Vintersorg on one song.

    After many listening to this promo countless times, we are torn about not really being able to like it as a whole. The album is quite complex and has plenty of layers to it, but they mostly feel like several things going in different directions and never really coming together properly. On the one hand, we have killer guitar work on songs like “Not Separate” and “Sexforce”, but some of the tempo changes are confusing and the vocals go in different directions.

    • Posted By: Dark Emperor
    • Comments: 0

    Sentence – Everywhere (2012)

    cover

    Making its way from France, today we have Sentence and their very crafty Progressive Death Metal. In their first full-length release “Everywhere”, the band delivers 13-tracks of brilliantly crafted technical music in the vein of Death and Cynic, but with a modern air to them. We are quite pleased with this release since it is not that often when you get a band that claims to play like Death or Cynic and they can actually pull it off graciously.

    After a warm-up intro, “Birth” delivers intricate guitar structures and deep growls. This track reminds us a bit of Obscura, but with a higher emphasis on the melodic side of things rather than playing millions of notes per song. The nice pace of this song allows the band to fully explore their technical abilities while sounding interesting and not overdone, something that Cynic does to perfection. In the powerful “Solitude”, the band has really warmed up and delivers a faster paced track that will blow you away with its very unique ending. Featuring a surprise element that never expected to listen in a song of this type, the band really set the bar high on this one.

    • Posted By: Dark Emperor
    • Comments: 0

    Ackros – Promo 2010 (2010)

    cover

    Today we have here with us a very promising Progressive Death Metal band from Belgium names Ackros, and their short but sweet Promo 2010 four song demo. Boosting powerful and yet intricate guitar work, Ackros is one of the few bands that have submitted promo/demo releases and really have impressed us with the quality of their work.

    Opening with “Drop Trip”, at first the band gives you the impression that you are set to review ‘just another’ Death Metal release, but suddenly the guitar work gets interesting and hooks you immediately. While doing nothing completely revolutionary, Ackros does manage to craft pretty nifty guitar sections that keep the songs very engaging and different from each other. “Axis Antiseptia” immediately starts with the progressive influences with some brilliant guitar work paired with nicely timed drumming. The vocals are typical DM growls, and fit very well the mixture of chugging traditional DM section and the progressive elements of the music.

Pages

Recent Image Galleries