She Who Invites

Initially formed in Sheffield, UK by Japanese guitarist Takanori Shono, Myth of a Life got its start as a melodic death metal band with members from all over the map. He was joined by an Italian drummer and a Greek vocalist before eventually adding an English bassist. The band released an EP in 2014, titled Erinyes, and things seemingly fell apart. Over the span of the following two years, every member except for vocalist Phil Dellas left the band. In early 2016, Dellas announced a revamped lineup featuring some UK based musicians, notably members of Lacrota and Psython. Though the lineup shifted pretty drastically in that span, the original lineup was able to records their debut full length, She Who Invites, which saw a June 2016 release through Greek label Sleaszy Rider Records.

Despite the constant line up shifts, Phil Dellas and crew have unleashed a solid, enjoyable chunk of melodic death metal. She Who Invites offers twelve tracks (four of which originally appeared on the EP) and nearly fifty minutes of Swedish-tinged riffing mixed with a more modernized, early 2000's American sound. While the music does seem to follow many of the stereotypical caveats typically associated with modern melodic death metal, there are some really strong melodies and striking riffing patterns throughout.

The entire puts on solid performances all around. The bass is thick and salubrious while the drums offer varying takes on fast paced double bass bursts and a swaggering rhythms. Phil Dellas offers a two tone vocal attack, moving between a deep growl and a higher register, almost blackened scream. It allows a bit of versatility, and Myth of a Life use it to their advantage, but in the realm of modern melodic death metal it's really nothing new. The guitarist puts on a hell of a show, with hook-laden riffs and fast paced arpeggios amid a bed of chunky gallops and a few clunky breakdowns. As a whole, I imagine it's what the illegitimate love child of Whoracle-era In Flames and early Caliban would sound like.

So She Who Invites brings out an energetic performance from this Sheffield based melodic death metal unit. It's not ground breaking, but the tinges of modernity and traces leaning towards the early 2000's American metalcore sound make for a strong brew. Fans of the style will no doubt find plenty to dig into. The album's length makes it a tough sell for a single sitting, but it's clear that these guys have the talent to move on to bigger things.

Eerie and foreboding, Myth Of A Life's debut full-length album invitingly opens the door to their melodic death metal world with an entrancing yet ultimately unsettling acoustic intro.....and shit seriously kicks off from there!

A multitude of voices emanate from vocalist Phil 'Core' Dellas - Myth Of A Life's only original member after a reshuffle since the release of their EP Erinyes last year - and he's ably backed by a machine that rolls out sick riff after sick riff, mixed with the fluid leads and sublimely melodic breaks you'd expect from a band whose influences obviously date back to the pioneering At the Gates and the death/thrash juggernaut that was early-doors The Haunted.

"Lobotomized" practically fucks your prefrontal cortex with its unchained ferocity and highlights from Erinyes are transported over, namely "Pull The Trigger" and "Erinyes" itself. The whole package flies by in a maelstrom of murder music and it's immediately accessible, despite a level of aggression threatening to derail those not accustomed to extreme metal's more brutish behaviours.

A defiantly British take on a Scandinavian staple - by way of Greece incidentally - this multi-cultural mixing pot reflects Myth Of A Life's varied lineage and, in essence, She Who Invites is effectively brutal, fuelled by anger and bile and is a well-executed throwback to the halcyon days of melodic death and the humble beginnings of metalcore.

Inviting indeed.

Originally published on worshipmetal.com