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Persefone > Lingua Ignota: Part I > Reviews
Persefone - Lingua Ignota: Part I

A beautiful bird’s eye view on things to come - 75%

lukretion, September 16th, 2024
Written based on this version: 2024, Digital, Napalm Records

Andorran extreme prog metallers Persefone are back with a new, snappy EP titled Lingua Ignota Pt. I that serves a double purpose: quenching the fans’ thirst for new music since their last full-length album metanoia in 2022, as well as introducing the band’s new harsh vocalist Daniel Rodríguez Flys, who replaces long-time singer Marc Martins Pia. The rest of the line-up is unchanged relative to recent records and includes guitarists Carlos Lozano and Filipe Baldaia, Miguel Espinosa on keyboards and clean vocals,Toni Mestre on bass, and Sergi Verdeguer on drums.

Lingua Ignota Pt. I comprises five songs: a shorter intro (“Sounds and Vessels”) and outro (“Abyssal Communication”), plus three lengthier affairs (“One Word”, The Equable”, “Lingua Ignota”), for an overall duration of just over 26 minutes. Each of the lengthier songs explores a different facet of the band’s sound, giving the EP a beautiful flow and ensuring a dynamic and engaging listening experience, where surprises lie behind every corner and there is almost no sense of repetitiveness, but only of marching forward.

Chosen as lead single, “One Word” is the heaviest cut of the whole EP, bringing to the fore Persefone’s melodic death metal and deathcore influences. The guitar riffs and leads are chuggy and razor-sharp, but never lose melodic immediacy, as in the best melodeath tradition. Meanwhile, well-placed, tech-infused breakdowns remind us that we are in 2024, and not 1994. Moving to the vocal department, Flys’ acrobatic grunts and shrieks make for a very convincing calling card for the new singer, who takes the lion’s share of the vocal passages in this song.

By contrast, “The Equable” is more atmospheric and melodic, and dominated by Miguel Espinosa’s beautiful clean croons and cleans. This moody, mid-tempo lurker is my favourite song from the EP, combining a powerful, modern groove with lush cinematic melodies in a way that reminded me of Soen’s recent albums. Carlos Lozano’s emphatic solo is definitely another highlight in this song. Upon reflection, one could say that both “One Word” and “The Equable” are a tad light in proggyness and experimentation. Fear not, however, because the EP’s quasi-title-track makes more than up for it, thanks to its intriguing injections of electronica and acoustic passages, and a slightly more complex structure that eventually extends and bleeds out into the album’s closing track “Abyssal Communication”.

Splendidly produced and mixed by renowned producer David Castillo, Lingua Ignota Pt. I provides a beautiful bird’s eye view over Persefone’s varied and eclectic sound aesthetics. Its blend of progressive dexterity, widescreen atmospherics, groove, and metallic edge should appeal to fans of all kinds of modern progressive metal, who can enjoy this thoroughly enjoyable placeholder while waiting for the next (full-length?) installment of this exciting new chapter in Persefone’s remarkable career.

They cored out D: - 73%

Nikolas_, February 6th, 2024

They do their typical over-the-top melodeath with over-the-top screams, like on Katabasis. But I feel like they are going too metalcore now. The first clean vocals section on "One Word" did sound a lot like every single metalcore chorus ever. Even more so did the chorus on "The Equable". The thing about Persefone is that they are very chaotic. There is always a lot going on, so it can be a bit hard for me to describe some things. However, on this EP at times it felt a bit obnoxious, while on the aforementioned "Katabasis" it gets your blood boiling. This EP also had a little bit more filler. "Sounds and Vessels" was unnecessary. I don't have too much to say about "Abyssal Communication", it is a bit cool, but what you would be looking for with Persefone.

The riffs can also get a bit too metalcore. Like on "The Equable". I know I have said the word metalcore a lot, but I just think metalcore is very generic. Though not all the guitarwork is bad. They riffs are a lot more fresh on "Lingua Ignota". They have some decent guitar solos too in the more otherwise boring tracks. "Lingua Ignota" is a very mild saving grace though. They do more of the stuff that made Persefone good there. The verses and the vocal work get a bit annoying with the choruses, but otherwise they are decent. Though I think they could have less clean vocals, at times they feel a little out of place.

This was a bit of a disappointment. They had lots of good stuff only two years prior. This EP was generally just the weakest of Persefone. To me it was mostly just boring, and had few highs, but no major lows. TL:DR; too metalcore.