The End of an Era

Alright , here it is, possibly the best melodic death metal album ever put out. Front to back, this thing is amazing. With songs like "The War Machine Embodiment" and "The Warriors Infinite Opus", how could you not fall in love with this band. The speed and intensity of Inferi really shows through with mind-splitting solos, intensely solid blasts, and ridiculously melodic phrases. From the stand point of a melodic death metal musician I was blown away entirely.

Opening up with tracks like "The Ruin Of Mankind", it really gets you prepared for the onslaught of melody and speed. The classical guitar in songs like "A New Breed Of Savior" remind you of how beautiful this music can be, especially when paired with the thunderous double kicks that keep the song going strong.

If you are a fan of melodic death metal + thrash metal AND with with a mix of black metal thrown in to keep it brutal, you must pick up this album. This band will not disappoint. Hats off to Inferi who once again blow our minds.

This is the sophomore and final release from a melodic death metal band from Tennessee. It's rather unfortunate, because they delivered an insane barrage of guitar riffing here that you'll rarely hear amongst the circles of Swedish wanna-be outfits taking up this style. Though this is a limited release and the band is unsigned, I have a feeling it will circulate far. The guitars ensure this will appeal to fans of technical US metal like Arsis, not to mention the already massive melodeath/metalcore fanbase.

As I mentioned, this album is about the guitars. These guys have done a phenomenal job of keeping the pacing fast and furious. Each track has dozens of them, and a great many of them are catchy. You'll sit at the edge of your seat listening to these guys weave their mayhem, whether its the noodling harmonies or the rapid fire rhythms. The drums keep up well, as does the bass, though the latter is rather low in the mix. The vocals are your garden variety melodic death metal, but at the very least they don't come off lame like the overbearing metalcore style a lot of US bands are using. The lyrics and titles revolve around fantastic war themes, and they have a slight Christian feel to them, but I can't confirm whether this is pro- or con- or neo-Christian and frankly it makes little difference.

The album takes a few moments to breathe. The intro "The Ruin of Mankind" is an instrumental with some keyboards and nice guitar meloides before picking up into a metal anthem. "A New Breed of Savior" starts with some acoustics before picking up into its roiling madness. But the overwhelming majority of the songs are winding and melodic labyrinths of perplexing intensity. Extremely consistent quality of riffing across all the heavier songs, if I had to pick a few favorites I'd run with "The Endless Siege", "Sentenced to Eternal Life", and "Forged in the Phlegethon".

For an unsigned release, the album sounds pretty good. I mentioned the bass is a little low but everything else is crisp in the mix. The guitars, though thin, pierce right through the vocals and drumming. If you are into well-crafted melodic death metal, don't hesitate to check it out, even if just to listen to the guitars go off. It's well worth the time, and a shame the band won't be continuing, they probably could have been huge with this formula.

-autothrall
http://www.fromthedustreturned.com

When I saw these guys play a small gig for a room of about 20 people I was blown away. I decided to pick up their first release, Divinity in War, and found it quite promising. So I didn't miss the opportunity to pick up this release, and I'm glad I didn't. I find End of an Era to be an enjoyable listen over and over again. It is blindingly fast melodic death metal with and it’s played with precision.

This album has great song writing and the lyrics seem to be centered on war and battle themes. I think the lyrical content compliments the music well which at times sounds like a noble warrior running at high speeds to join a vicious battle. One noticeable difference from their first release is that they recruited Nevin as a new bass player. Previously, the lead vocalist Josh also took care of bass duties. The vocals on this album are nothing special, standard death metal vocals, with a range from low growls to higher pitched screams. The guitar work here, especially the lead guitar work done by Malcolm Pugh is what stands out. To say that the guitar solos are great is an understatement. I also enjoy the drumming on this album, it is a solid wall of blast, but the fills and constant change of technique keep things interesting. The drums also sound very organic and natural as opposed to triggered and mechanical, yet still, they are always blindingly fast.

The album starts with an instrumental track which sounds like a battle looming in the distance, slowly encroaching. By the second track the battle is in full gear. There are even some short classical guitar interludes which were very well performed, for instance, in the beginning of a new breed of savior. This is an example of the outstanding song writing, when the classical guitar doesn’t just simply fade away as the first riff of the metal song begins, the classical arrangement introduces the listener to the melody of the 2-guitar onslaught to follow, which includes rhythm and lead parts.

Another standout track is the Warrior’s Infinite Opus, which is a nine plus minute long instrumental song which demonstrates the musicians talent. This track feature additional lead guitar by Mike and Matt of Enfold Darkness, and the final track features additional vocals from Pat of Swashbuckle. This brings me to one of my only complaints about the album, it ends in an unsatisfying way. The vocalist finishes the last phrase with increasingly low successive growls. This leaves the listener hanging, expecting another phase. It doesn’t sound complete. After some more riffage the music simply fades into a piano and synth passage which ends the album. I really feel cheated by the end of the last track, and I expected more from an album which is packed with exceptional song writing.

My personal favorite tracks include “Gatherings in the Chambers of Madness”, “A New Breed of Savior”, “Sentenced to Eternal Life”, “The Warrior’s Infinite Opus”, and “Forged in the Phlegethon”.

Melodeath from the States tends to be a mixed bag as far as material goes. Bands can't seem to decide whether they want to focus more on strong songwriting and technicality or making everything sound as pretty as possible sacrificing original ideas in the process. Inferi is a great example of a band who has great potential and ideas but come up mostly lacking in several departments.


The songwriting for the most part is quite strong. The band dazzles the listener going from bone crushing and jaw dropping riffs to expertly played and well placed solos("A New Breed of Savior"). The style reminds me of Arsis and the way they also rip into intricate melodic leads like it's child's play. The difference here is that there is some thrash thrown into the mix to make the music memorable and head bang worthy.


Unfortunately the band has picked some horrible vocals to go along with the great musicianship. The vocalist comes across as a mixture of a screaming child and someone getting their balls ripped off. It may just be the vocal production on the album that makes him sound so bad. The production for the whole album is underwhelming to say the least. The drums sound terrible and there is no bass to speak of or hear for that matter. Some more attention could have been paid to making the band sound as good as they play.


Overall I love the fast as hell riffs and the songwriting. These guys really know how to play and are not afraid to show it. The solos are amazing and truly help an otherwise very bland production and poor vocal performance. I will definitely continue to listen to the album due to the amazing music being played despite the obvious production and vocal issues I have.


Best Cuts: "A New Breed of Savior", "The War Machine Embodiment", "The Warrior's Infinite Opus"


Good: The riffs and solos are amazing; music is played ridiculously fast.


Bad: Vocals are nasty and the production could have better.


Review originally done for: http://flatlinemusic.blogspot.com