The Arcane Order

Ran into these guys recently and was impressed at the effectiveness of the manner in which they fuse death and thrash metal, siphoned through a somewhat modern filter and given a veritable shot in the arm regarding production values. Shinigami want you to think they have some elaborate, cerebral tale to tell but despite the stylized cover art, it's pretty much more of the same. What isn't more of the same is the quality of this EP and amount of material offered; six songs with little time wasted, so The Arcane Order feels more like a truncated full-length than a smattering of demo material culled together and called an EP. Songs alternate between what sounds like Metallica-influenced thrash struck from a similar mold as early Trivium and roiling, tremolo-laden death metal with a chunky, lurching feel. At times it comes close to the same genre crossroads often occupied by melodic death, but Shinigami are generally too atonal and rhythm-based to consistently meet that criteria.

Some tracks have an ominous intensity to them. laced to machinegun blasting and sharp-edged riffs that feature swinging, obtuse chord work and the occasional melodic tail to offset the stolid crunch of the rhythm proper. Take "The Way of the Dragon" for example, which sounds like a more death metal Testament or something, replete with gang shouts and other frenetic window dressing. As mentioned, riffs often have a very alien, almost awkward sound to them that adds a tense, unnerving substrate to the music. Groove is implemented piecemeal but effectively, assuredly a carryover of the modern Lamb of God-esque influence that is marginally present. Leads aren't the most impressive, and feel far less original and compelling, like the arpeggio opening of "Order of the Blade," which is pretty rote and familiar stuff. Vocals are also a mixed bag, generally radiating a pseudo-shout that is intelligible if a bit cheesy sounding. Other constipated Covan-esque growls appear in spots, along with surprisingly ineffective gutturals. It is easy to forgive these missteps in favor of The Arcane Order's positive aspects, but the deficiencies remain.

The EP certainly builds up quite a sweat, pushing the intensity pedal to the floor from note one and never lets up, save for a few more cerebral-sounding lead showcases and the brooding "雨夜." Drums are busy, octopus-like and feature concrete-cracking zest that cohabitates with the old school tremolo work splendidly. The guitars sound raw, dangerous and really open up during the faster picked sections. Bifurcating these more throwback death metal elements is a more modern, groove-centric temperament, which gives us riffs with a thick, bouncy jaunt to offset the standard bloodletting. It adds some variety and the transitions feel seamless enough, like on the crushing "Concubine of Madness." Overall, Shinigami have executed a very solid first impression, and their next move is anticipated as a result.