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Persefone > Aathma > Reviews
Persefone - Aathma

One of the most crammed albums I've heard! - 58%

Lane, December 8th, 2017
Written based on this version: 2017, CD, ViciSolum Productions

'Aathma', the fifth full-length album from this Andorran band, served as a baptism to their music for me. Have the band always been this complicated and technical, I wonder.

Mathematics. Damn this is filled with tempo changes, non-straight tempos and broken beats. I cannot keep up with this, even though I must say there are some very cool transtions included. I mean, there must be a considerable amount of different beats. They vary from calm playing to extreme metal styles. I find loads of guitar, vocal and synthersizer melodies, which do not seem to stick to my brain. There's shredding guitar work as well as fast fretboard runs, but also very clear, airy playing. The solos are labyrinthine, epic and nothing too contagious. The bass guitar is at times following the guitars and the drums, but often wanders its own path. To tell the truth, I think that sometimes there are more than one path the band is proceeding. The synthesizer work is varying; there's anything from bleeps to mat-synths, and piano playing to classical music elements.

The album is 63 minutes long, including 13 tracks, which range from 1½ minute to almost 10 minutes. It feels very, very laborious, even though there are a few calm interludes between all chaos (not surprisingly, them shorter tracks). The album might get a bit clearer towards the end, but I'm still not sure, even though I've listened it all way through for multiple times. One thing is clear: There is no idea to listen to it during your mind is on something else!

The first familiar element for me, soon after the album starts, is Dream Theater's influence. This is similarly technical and also music-wise these two bands are reminiscent. In most technical way, but also during more jamming, or should I say groovy, moments. The spirit of Pink Floyd can be sensed during some of more airy moments. But as it is 2017, the band went for djent (one of them newer genres that stagnated very fast after its birth). Death metal trait of the band has gotten very small and is heard only for some brief moments (if not counting the growl vocals). Cynic's Paul Masvidal guests on annoying vocoder vocals and throws a guitar solo, too. While the music is eccentric, there are good bits, surely. It's only all around, fragmented. However, at best it can be highly inviting.

If you want it technical, the instrumentalists here deliver. Something about the vocals, then. The growling is death metal style, and able in that; powerful and fits in well. It's not very varying, though. The clean vocals are not metal at all, but simply clean male vocals; not high or low pitched. There's much more of growl, thankfully. The lyrics are spiritual. "Aathma" is the world soul or the universal mind. Something like all souls are one.

The production work is surprisingly clear, when thinking of how much there has been crammed in. The guitars have most volume, and the synthesizer is mostly kept in back. It does not sound too polished, albeit it certainly is pedantic workmanship. I thought the artwork looked like Travis Smith's, and that's who made it. The booklet's inner page graphics look remarkably bland, though.

It is kind of peculiar that this album with its highly spiritual lyrics feels like it's missing some serious soulfulness. Or then it's well hidden. As for music, this is way too crammed and it is jumpy. Well, at least the term "progressive" is in full use..! Let's see if this album will ever open for me...

(Originally written for ArchaicMetallurgy.com)

A venture into the pantheistic cosmos. - 91%

hells_unicorn, November 14th, 2017
Written based on this version: 2017, CD, ViciSolum Productions

Somewhere out in that great beyond there is a place where borders begin to blur, definitions run together and one might travel a great distance without taking a single step. Such a speculative realm would seem to be the exclusive domain of eastern philosophy and mysticism, but there are a number of westerners who are quite enthralled by the concept as well. Arguably one of the greatest metal-based musical purveyors of this off-kilter mode of metaphysical speculation are the Andorran progressive outfit with a melodeath twist Persefone, a band that rose to prominence during the heyday of genre splicing in the mid-2000s and have weathered the past decade of shifting trends without a hint of being phased. Packing a punch hard-hitting enough to trade blows with the likes of Gojira, yet also sticking to a songwriting template that emulates the technical and eclectic character of Dream Theater and Threshold, they've offered a unique musical take on things to match their otherworldly lyrical pursuits, and their fifth studio LP Aathma is no exception.

To the uninitiated, the musical game of spiritual and philosophical excursions that Persefone deal in are fairly reminiscent of the dichotomy between extreme impact and nuanced atmospheric flavoring that is typical to their newer and arguably more popular Australian rivals Ne Obliviscaris, though this western European fold plays it a little closer to the traditional prog sound of Dream Theater. This formula was codified on their 2009 studio effort 真剣 / Shin-ken and tends to feature mostly through-composed songs of varying length (anywhere from a minute and a half instrumental interlude to a massive 20 minute epic in four parts). Despite the highly esoteric and contemplative subjects covered, there is a strong degree of symmetry to these songs, culminating in what could be construed as hooks at varying points, usually involving either pristine clean vocal work or even an occasional robotic voice effect heavily reminiscent of Cynic. Nevertheless, these points of accessibility are shrouded in plenty of jarring twists and turns, and enough technical noodling to make John Petrucci smile.

It is a challenging undertaking to unpack the contents of this hour-plus musical manifesto of transcending the material world, but it is difficult to miss the surprisingly smooth flow that emerges in spite of the radical contrasts in length and depth between each song. The spacey soundscapes of the likes of the fleeting instrumental "Vacuum" and the longer and more climactic "Cosmic Walkers" offer fitting points of rest and recovery after the intense battery of harsh shouts and rhythmic pummeling that culminates in "Spirals Within Thy Being" and the schizophrenic five minute journey of technical showmanship and cybernetic chants "Living Waves". But even more interesting than the whole tendency of the album to ebb and flow from beginning to end is the towering miniature album unto itself of a closing title song, which is divided into four near-equal parts; the first "Universal Oneness" cycling through a series of jazzy grooves and flowing loosely amid the heavy guitar hits, the second progressing from a slow ballad-based crawl to a sea of dynamic riffs and shred-happy lead guitar work, while the other two provide equally original paths in a heavier hitting bruiser and a closing ballad denouement before vanishing into the cosmic ether.

Any assessment of an album as vast as this one is a daunting task, as the sheer amount of content packed into each song is a mind-trip on its own, let alone trying to take the whole album in as one flowing concept. However, compared to the preceding efforts of this outfit, particularly since 2009 when their approach became slightly more stylized, this is an ever so slight dip in relative greatness. In many ways, this is the most ambitious offering to date for Persefone, but it doesn't quite force its way into one's long-term memory as quickly as its predecessor Spiritual Migration, which put a slightly greater emphasis on symmetry and dwelt upon the hooks just a little bit longer. Nevertheless, it is an obvious boon to any existing fan of this outfit's recent prior works, though it is probably not the ideal album to start with for someone seeking to take the plunge with Persefone for the first time. Chalk it up to another highly impressive notch in this outfit's quest to expand the horizons of metal while being able to translate it into something understandable to earthbound thinkers.

A stream of energy ! - 100%

Livingwave17, October 20th, 2017

I should start by saying that Persefone isn't everyone's cup of tea. This is progressive death metal so harsh sounds and complexity should be expected. But in the area of progressive music, these guys are gods. Persefone has always meant agressive fast guitars, with crazy drums, following mind blowing rhytmic sections and weird time signatures alongside virtuous technical solos and leads. And an amazing mix of harsh and clean vocals puts the cherry on top of the cake.

Aathma is the last release and it is their most mature album so far. While previous albums like Shin-Ken and Spiritual Migration proved that these people are extremely skillful musicians, this album aims to prove another point. While the previous album was the most complicated and most evolved in terms of technical performance and complexity, Aathma is a bit tuned down from it's baby brother's insanity, bringing forth a perfect mix of emotions and ideas. Less insanity means that this album is more accessible than Spiritual Migration. Don't be fooled though, as this is still really powerful and intense. But the point is that it is more balanced and allows you to perceive everything with less effort. It creates the perfect contrasts. There are harsh vocals soothed by clean vocals, crazy riffs and solos alternating with soft melodic ideas and long epic complex tracks alongside simple instrumental interludes. The album is also very original in Persefone's history, due to a lot of key elements.

The band is original by itself. You don't get a progressive death metal band that approaches concepts like greek mythology, samurai ideology or meditation and enlightenment every day. Yet Aathma still sets itself aside from everything with a new different approach. In the past Persefone would take an idea and spread it all over the album like they did with Shin-Ken and Spiritual Migration, or they would create a story-like album such as Core. Aathma is placed somewhere in the middle. The main idea is that every living organism is connected. The Aathma is a universal soul. But this idea is revealed slowly. The album begins with a person trapped within the material world and limited by his body. Then a journey within one's self begins as the mind awakens to this universal connection and the person feels and understands the connection with the universe. The end of the album reflects the perfect state of enlightenment where one is the Aathma itself. And this is the epic 20 minute title track. The evolutionary pattern is similar to a story but there are no characters and no time or space. So the approach of this last release is a very balanced mix of the previous ones. The cover artwork represents the concept perfectly.

There are more elements that set this album apart from older ones. There is new blood in the band. The new drummer Sergi Verdeguer brings a whole new style to the rhythm patterns creating a new sound to the band. There is also a new guitarist Fillipe Baldaia. They are joining the old members that keep the identity of the band unstained and unmatched. We are talking about Carlos Lozano, Miguel Espinosa and Marc Martins Pia. Carlos is the guitarist and creative mind behind the technical and virtuous sections turning Persefone into one of the most evolved bands musically while keyboardist Miguel brings the more emotional and calm side of Persefone and the amazing clean vocals creating that perfect contrast that I kept talking about. Marc is responsible for the harsh vocals that bring more power on the album. Even more people make this album such a glorious release. To be noted is the contribution of guest musicians. Paul Masvidal from "Cynic" brings trance-like vocals and a beautiful guitar solo on Living Waves and in the beginning of the album. The second guest is Merethe Solvedt from "Two Steps from Hell" who gives us some beautiful clean vocals on the title track. She also gets to tell us the conclusion of the whole evolution: "I am just this soul"

The song that best defines Aathma and Persefone is "Living Waves". This song blends all the trademark elements of Persefone's music and also features Paul Masvidal's vocals and guitar. It also represents the turning point of the album, where the material world is left behind and the person transcends into a living wave.

There is another detail of this album that takes Persefone to the next level, and that is the sound mixing. The crunchy sound on the guitars and the thumping drums sound better than ever before due to Jens Bogren's magic in the mixing room. This great sound engineer worked with huge bands like Opeth, Haken, Symphony X, Soilwork and Amon Amarth. And he sure did a hell of a job here too. Aathma has the best sound in the whole Persefone discography.

I think we can agree that Persefone is not your usual progressive band and that everything they do deserves proper admiration. All of the elements that build this album come together to show us a path that everyone can choose to take in life. This album is a true masterwork with energetic peaks and soft bits as well and overall it feels like a stream of energy. In the end there is nothing more to say. Aathma is the final howl of wisdom from the Andorran gods of progressive death metal. It is an amazing journey that has definitely left it's mark on me, and now, I invite you to join this crazy ride too.

Progressive Death Enlightenment - 100%

andreipianoman, August 12th, 2017
Written based on this version: 2017, CD, ViciSolum Productions

At the beginning of 2017 the progressive metal masters, Persefone, released their latest studio album, Aathma. And it only takes a peek at the cover artwork and tracklist before you can tell that this is not your everyday album. My expectations on this one were huge and knowing that they decided to keep a similar concept to their previous album, Spiritual Migration, which in my opinion was their best one yet, I was very curious to see if they would evolve or just get stuck. Of course there was a lot at stake because with Spiritual Migration they set the bar way beyond anything I could've ever imagined.

Aathma is clearly not just a copy of their previous album. A lot is still the same old Persefone but a lot has changed. First of all, there's new blood in the band. After the departure of their guitarist, Jordi Gorgues and their drummer, Marc Mas, their good friends Sergi "Bobby" Verdeguer and Filipe Baldaia from the band Nami came along. Since it's not for any musician to join a band like Persefone, these new guys have a serious challenge to tackle. But they fit right in making the new line-up easily live up to the standard set by the previous one.

Anyway, let's get back to the album. Aathma keeps the idea of enlightenment and positivity and the motivational themes that they already presented back in 2013 but now they take a totally different perspective. Instead of just exposing their ideas and beliefs through music like they did before, now they create an evolutionary pattern. That can be seen in the symmetry between the second song on the album called "One of Many" and the last part of the title track, called "Many of One". The whole thing starts in a state of unawareness and confusion while you find yourself confined within your "Prison Skin" but you refuse to remain in this dark and negative state. An inner struggle starts to form throughout the album between all the distractions assaulting you from inside and out and the need to find your true self. A powerful and positive vibe defines this album as we ascend through the layers of awareness in songs like "Spirals Within Thy Being" and "Stillness is timeless". This fight between two apparently opposite personalities of the same being is very beautifully represented in the music through contrasts between clean and harsh vocals.

Musically speaking I really thought there was nowhere else they could go since it seemed that they had already went through everything that progressive metal could offer. But I was wrong. If all the progressiveness, speed, power and technicality had already reached its peak in Persefone's music, they decided to calm down a bit and turn to a more melodic direction. Don't get me wrong though, this is still a colossal and absolutely mind-blowing one-hour long progressive metal monster. But they have also explored a more relaxed and balanced way of writing their songs. It gives you a little more time to breathe. I also find that this album has the most amazing intro track ever with their guest musician Paul Masvidal's digitally modified vocals on "An Infinitesimal Spark", creating the ideal mood for the progressive riffs to kick in. I also like his vocals on the song "Living Waves" which is probably my favorite on the album except for the title track. But it is really Miguel "Moe" Espinosa who brings all the peace and purity of this album to life with his hauntingly beautiful and soothing clean vocals and the uplifting piano melodies. Of course he also goes crazy on the solos. It wouldn't be possible to be a part of Persefone without going at least a little bit over the line of what one would consider humanly possible. He even says that in the lyrics: "My soul is not contained within the limits of my body/ Instead, my body is contained within the NO limits of my soul". And while we're at the "no limits" department, Carlos Lozano is the leader. Although the riffs and guitar solos haven't got any crazier I really doubt that was necessary. His intentions were clear. He tried to step in the John Petrucci teritorry and plant his own flag in there. And I think that's just what he did with the solo for "Stillness is Timeless". I also really like the one in "Spirals within thy being" where he shows off some amazing sweeping skills. "Bobby" also stands out since his drum style is very different from their previous drummer.

And beyond all this they bring another guest, Merethe Solvedt as the frosting on their progressive and enlightened cake to give us the conclusion of our journey: "I am just this soul". Her voice along with Moe's piano really is the ideal way to end the masterpiece that is the twenty minute long title track and the entire album along with it! This release was made possible through a crowdfunding campaign that brought them the mixing and mastering of Jens Bogren who also worked on music from great artists such as Opeth, Arch Enemy, Devin Townsend, Amon Amarth and Symphony X and that means that you can hear all the juicy stuff at an even better quality than ever before. With Aathma, Persefone have once again proven that the sound of the universe was invented in Andorra. It totally lives up to my expectations and it proves that when it seemed they had explored every possible side of progressive music, they still found a way to evolve. I'm not saying that this is better than Spiritual Migration. But it is as good as. And that's as high as praise can go!

Spiritual Migration's Vegan Cousin - 95%

Karrebarre98, June 10th, 2017

I got into Persefone earlier this year, as a product of typical Youtube-surfing; finding crazy melodic/technical/progressive death metal albums I would never have found anywhere else. Back in early January, I came across one of Persefone's albums and became a fan of them pretty quickly, and just in time to participate in the hype surrounding this new album's release.

Aathma is quite a bit different than Spiritual Migration, for a few reasons, but perhaps the most notable difference is the departure of their drummer, Marc Mas Marti. This changed their song structure a bit, but more so, it drastically changed how the drums are intertwined with the guitar riffs and keyboards. Thus, the album in the most basic sense, has a much different feel than SM. The songs on this album tend to have completely different melodic themes and sound so different on their own that it becomes very easy to tell them apart, as compared to SM, where the songs tended to have some dramatic melodic sections with clean vocals and jagged drum patterns, rhythm sections with fast or linear drumming and little melody, and gentle parts with little to no percussion or vocals. On this album, they tend to do almost whatever and not really follow much of a pattern, thus giving each song a vastly different structural concept.

Both this album and SM have somewhat distinct characters within their ambient sections and overall sonic backing. SM tended to have a wet and soft sounding ambience with reverb mostly on the drums and clean guitars set to the neck pickup, providing some glassy and spacious sounding instrumentals. SM typically evokes feelings of walking alone through a deep forest. With Aathma, they've practically done a 180, and gone the other direction, drastically changing their guitar tone to be more "spacey" sounding, taking out some of the drum reverb, resulting in a more intimate, less compressed drum sound, and overall, having more of a dry and airy sounding ambience; something that might instead invoke feelings of being out in space or on top of a mountain.

When it comes to the overall production, Persefone was already at the top of their game with SM, and one cannot go much further with getting a more razor-sharp drum sound, more saturated guitars, and butter-smooth lead sound than they already had attained--without becoming too sterile and soulless. So, to make things more interesting, they did the best thing they could do, and that was to take a step back from perfection, and rather move towards being more organic. The drums are less compressed, have less reverb, sound more woodsy and really breathe, in comparison with bands that tend to use cookie-cutter samples due to small recording budgets. The guitars aren't quite as saturated and buzz-saw sounding, but rather have a more mid-range heavy, chunky profile, which also adds to the more organic sound. Overall, production is definitely a plus.

Final consensus is this: Aathma is a fantastic album that is different enough that it pushes you out of your SM-familiarity comfort-zone a little bit, but has enough of Marc's screams, Moe's cleans and synths, that it doesn't feel like a complete departure. This album requires alot of listens to really remember every notable part of every song. This album, along with SM, are definitely growers. Would absolutely recommend this album to anyone who wants to go for an insane prog-death ride.

Favorites:

Prison Skin (bridge is amazing)
Living Waves (bridge part is my personal highlight of the album)
Stillness Is Timeless

95 / 100

Too Much? - 77%

Larry6990, February 25th, 2017
Written based on this version: 2017, CD, ViciSolum Productions

Music nerds, get your thinking caps on; prog fanatics, prepare your underwear; the rest of you can just sit in a corner, picking your noses and scratching your heads - Persefone are back. For a band with such a consistent streak, a four year gap between albums isn't unforgivable - especially when it's music of this ilk. Their brand of progressive melodic death metal can't possibly be everyone's cup of tea (as it even eclipses me sometimes!) - but the quality is so high, it's hard to fault them. Here in 2017, the Andorrans present Aathma (whatever the fuck that means, I'm having research issues) - an hour-long mammoth voyage across astral plains and deep into the concept of existence itself. I think.

A quick glance at the tracklist will reveal an awkwardly-structured release. Kicking off with a pair of sub-two-minute instrumentals is an unusual trait, especially as I question the necessity of the latter. Though the haunting voice in "An Infinitesmal Spark" sets the tone perfectly. Once "Prison Skin" brings this album into full-swing, it's still difficult to settle into a comfortable listening strategy. As irregular rhythms, complex vocal patterns and swathes of celestial sound effects bombard the senses, it's instantly clear this is gonna be a 'grower'. At least the excellent mixing job makes every component audible.

Persefone's innate sense of melody is less proclaimed as on Spiritual Migration, and is resigned primarily to Miguel Espinosa's multi-faceted keyboards. Using a massive variety of timbres, (harps, synth pads, strings, piano...and I think there's even a theramin in the title-track) he can conjure up so many moods. The other stars of this record are relative-newcomer Sergi, for a remarkably versatile performance behind the kit, and mainstay vocalist, Marc. His death growls are some of the most decipherable and powerful in the genre, and, whilst he doesn't utilize them to their full extent, his cleans are unshakeable. Have a listen to him soaring above "Living Waves" - stirring stuff!

It was a brave move to close this opus with a 9 minute melo-death masterpiece, swiftly followed by a 20-minute title-track. But it absolutely pays off. The finale is so climactic, it makes the rest of the album feel like a pre-show feature. "Stillness Is Timeless" showcases the band at their most extreme, bringing groovy riffs and blast-beat sections aplenty. Whereas the colossal title-track has more dips and peaks than the himalayas. Each ambient segment is fused with its abrasive counterpart seamlessly. If there's one prog metal track you hear in 2017, make sure it's this one.

My mind is desperately prying deep into each layer of music, trying to decipher a recurring theme or motif that might link each piece together. Alas, the concept is vague and there is almost too much going on. Much like Vektor's overrated Terminal Redux last year, this may be too much of a good thing. That being said, Aathma is an incredible journey that will leave you breathless if you approach it with the right mindset. Definitely for a niche market - namely, Persefone fans.