The Next Chapter

Once Upon the End is a very interesting new band from France. Their style is tagged as melodic death/power metal and while this is not totally wrong you might not get the correct idea before listening for yourself either. Their music surely cannot be described as any kind of Amon Amarth rip-off. While they use of course the same trademarks as thousands of other bands they manage to implement quite a few other influences to keep their sound fresh without becoming a mess. “The Next Chapter” is their debut full length and brings 40 minutes of quality metal with a healthy mixture of riffs, melody and some cool ideas.

After the obligatory intro OUtE hammer away with the first real song “Overseers”. Backed by a nice mid-tempo groove it comes immediately clear that the band’s sense for harmonies is fantastic, and that their lead themes differ a bit from your standard melo-death outfit. The lead guitars offer some interesting twists and turns, at times even giving the music a subtly jazzy feeling as there seems to be a bit of a freestyle character to some of the key sequences. That being said everything comes together wonderfully in the end, and the hard hitting main riffs make sure that things never get too cozy. In its entirety this album is a very well thought-out and cleverly played piece of sonically brutal ear assault.

Although the riffing is fast and sometimes shows proggy tendencies the main chords lead the way directly and straight to the point, and the songs are coherently written. The basic chords are twisted and slightly manipulated throughout a track, but always have a certain recognizable sound acting as a common theme in the respective song. The guitar playing is especially impressive here. Whether going for atmosphere, a certain emotion, blistering assault, or just plain strangeness, the guitars help shape the music’s feel and impact even more than you would normally expect for something of this nature.

There are also quite a few modern patterns and chugging grooves as well as breaks that are sometimes used to weave a few other elements like clean vocals as counterpart to the growls and screams or mellow harmonies into the overall picture. The music here is melodically rich while being refreshingly unfussy in execution. This record comes with a titanic wall of riffs that showcases the band’s penchant for catchiness without sacrificing an oddly accessible approach to sometimes slightly more technical songwriting. OUtE deliver a ferocious yet measured piece of darkness that captures the excellent qualities of the genre.

There are many laudable elements like the incredibly talented performances, the creative and varied songwriting as well as the crushing sound, which is great, very crisp and transparent. The production is powerful, modern yet not too synthetic. The guitars are crunchy and have enough bite and drums sound punchy and organic. Add a stunning cover which enhances the somehow dystopian feeling. “The Next Chapter” might not be for everyone and every day, as it demands a bit of an open mind. However, if you are interested in something a bit off the trodden paths this album could be interesting for you.