Collapse in Agony

The debut album from Polish death metal supergroup Symbolical, “Collapse in Agony,” is clearly the work of seasoned veterans at times but also manages to come off as an obvious debut album from time-to-time.

Overall this group seems to offer forth rather impressive amounts of modern extreme metal into a fine package on display here. Clearly influenced by a lot of blackened death metal, the main point of attack here is swirling tremolo-picked rhythms and scalding riff-work, creating a sonically appropriate landscape throughout here that offers a truly darker sound than would be expected, especially with these varied riffing styles at play throughout this. These swirling tremolo riffs are nicely augmented by a rather tight, frantic series of chugging patterns and even minor hints of groove-laden rhythms that aren’t so much associated with the black metal styling elsewhere here, but do manage to come off rather well in bringing up a generally enjoyable approach to modern extreme metal. Indeed, this approach lends to a large degree of variety in the tempos as well, flying through raging barnburners and solid mid-tempo moments to even slower paces and featuring melodic interludes as well amidst the chaos. Using lighter lilting patterns to off-set the chaos around it, the effect of celestial travel while still bearing out the hammering, frenzied riff-work makes for a truly enjoyable experience and becomes the best part of the album here when the band isn’t firing off at rapid speeds. Complimented with the rapid-fire drumming assault that pounds away with ferocious blasts, dynamic fills and a generally full-speed approach throughout, this is a nicely well-rounded and dynamic start here.

While the band may certainly have some great parts in store here for the future, it does have some problematic areas. The biggest issue here is the fact that the album’s completely scattershot approach to song-writing tends to leave this one with plenty of head-scratching moments that don’t make the slightest bit of sense in the long-run, from the need to slow down to a doom-like crawl here with the slow, sludgy rhythms barely keeping the pace going while at the same time the drumming is going ballistic in the background blasting away pretty heavily and readily. This is somewhat distracting with the different moods and feelings coming through varying influences not quite meshing well together, so while the idea behind what they’re attempting here is to be commended it doesn’t come off well on the album. As well, there’s a decidedly obvious lack of energy in the compositions here from the first half to the second half as the drop-off becomes wildly noticeable once it gets to the mid-way point where the songs seem to run on the same style and patterns as before which gives this a strong familiar vibe and really tends to lower this one slightly because of that, but overall it’s somewhat forgivable due to the overall strong material on display.

The first half here is a prime example of what to find throughout here. The instrumental intro ‘Prologue (De Nihil)’ features droning ambient noise and celestial tones weave throughout for a spine-tingling intro segueing into proper first track ‘The Universe’ which features tight mid-tempo chugging, dynamic blasting drumming and urgent tempos whipping through heavy swarms of swirling riff-work and frantic tempo shifts that still keep the up-tempo blackened riffs charging through in the upper paces as the tight patterns lead into the melodic solo section for the final half in generating a solid, rousing opening blast. ‘Mephisto's Misanthropy’ offers swirling riff-work and pounding, thumping drumming collide in stuttering mid-tempo rhythms weaving through utterly up-tempo series of tremolo-picked riffs and pounding drum-work charging along in blasts of technical rhythms stuttering through the finale for a fine effort overall. A minor misstep, ‘A Lesson in Humility’ offers heavy, mid-tempo chugging and stuttering breakdown-style patterns that whip through a fine series of mid-tempo swirling riff-work and dynamic drum-blasts which chug into melodic soloing against the dexterous, blasting drumming that takes the stuttering, mid-tempo charging through the low-key final half for a pretty bland if still heavy offering. The crushing ‘Heritage of the Executioner’ starts with haunting tremolo-picked rhythms and crushing drumming work into a ferocious up-tempo series of scaling rhythms amidst the melodic interjections and thrashing paces with the dynamic choppy chugging patterns with swirling tremolo leads whipping through the celestial solo section finale that makes for one of the album’s highlights. ‘Behold the Man – Abomination’ utilizes whipping swirling riffing and tight chugging patterns with blasting drumming carrying the stylish mid-tempo rhythms and swirling rhythms alongside the frenzied drum-blasts littered with celestial melody patterns bringing back the ferocious rhythms and stuttering paces for the final half in another utterly strong effort.

The second half is decidedly weaker but still comes across quite nicely. ‘Compulsory Redemption’ features a solid mid-tempo groove and blasting drumming work into solid mid-range series of swirling riffs and dynamic patterns of epic rhythms churning along through the mid-tempo paces as the ferocious tempos swell into the blasting drum-work and mid-range riffing throughout the finale for an enjoyable if not as impressive effort as before. The multi-textured ‘From Heaven into the Mire’ uses a thumping bass-groove lead into crushing mid-tempo rhythms and steady drumming that slowly works into a simple rhythm with the second half exploding into frenzied, chaotic drum-blasts and scalding riff-work as the melodic solo section brings back the frenzied patterns in the final half for an impressive and utterly enjoyable offering. ‘Betrayed at Dawn’ features charging riff-work and blasting drumming work in frenzied tempos and rather dynamic patterns to flow through the stuttering rhythms and rattling drum-blasts with the scalding tremolo-leads careening through the stylish celestial rhythms of the solo section with the frenzied drumming alongside into the finale for another enjoyable effort. Another misguided effort, ‘The Ultimate Mortification’ begins with atmospheric tones and ambient sounds that slowly work a mid-tempo groove with blistering drumming and frenzied blasts amongst the mid-tempo chugging with the frenzied blasts appearing into the dragging, lilting mid-section that careens back to the mid-tempo patterns for the final half that’s got a lot to like when thrashing away but is too painful in the other areas to like a whole lot. Lastly, ‘Collapse in Agony (Dies Irae)’ uses choppy drum-work and stuttering swirling riffing work a fine mid-tempo pace with a strong series of lilting melodies weaving through the chugging grooves throughout the swirling finale that makes for a rather weak but appropriate lasting impression here.

As this is a debut offering, there’s a decided amount of work here that might prove favorable to those who enjoy this style yet is still given a bit of free reign in allowing for the minor flaws that creep up from time-to-time because of their status. That there is the main crux of the album as there’s enough here to appeal to many different fans altogether but still show signs of a debut album that it can be a bit daunting for some as well.