Death Meditations

I can't believe it took me nearly 3 years after the release of this album to finally pick up a copy. So much wasted time. The first listen sent a tremendously dynamic and bombastic experience. Tracks like Severings and Penumbra rush out of the gate with such ferocious intensity it is impressively overwhelming. And yet, the strong melodies and often subtle synths bind the intensity into a roller coaster of sound!

But enough with the cheese. Straight up, the musicianship is superb track in and track out. Every element is placed perfectly to come at you hard and fast without simply being noise. The solos are well crafted, timed and shaped to each specific song, nothing sounds out of place. The band also shows their hand at combining beautifully expansive and atmospheric synths with an aggressive percussion and crushing riffs. The best example of this is Coffin-Shaped Heart, the fast song that feels slow. The brutal song that flows so eloquently.

This album truly has something for everyone. The title track is for lovers of death/thrash as well as Momentum. While doom/atmospheric metalheads will find At Takao River particularly appealing. This album is a blend of ambiance and intensity that will grip you from the opening track and won't let go until you listen to The Aphotic Depths at leas 4 times. Even the instrumental breathers (Portals and In the Shadow of Leaves) are intriguing and unsettling. Enough to catch your breath, but not too much to leave you bored.

My favorite song: Dying Codex. Deceptive, catchy and fierce. This song pulls you with it and engages you in every second. While not a particularly impressive song in any aspect except composition, this song has no weaknesses. I listen to this extensively and find it quite distracting as I'm trying to write this review. I would like Torchbearer to release an album more often than once every five years, but if this is the result, it may be worth the wait. Death Meditation deserves some respect and needs to be heard!

Cheers!
C_E