Arsis: Visitant (2018)

Melodic death metal is primarily thought of as a European style of metal.  It of course arose primarily out of Sweden with bands like At the Gates, Dark Tranquillity, In Flames, Soilwork and others.  It has recently taken hold in Finland with groups like Omnium Gatherum, Mors Principium Est and Insomnium.  The U.S. by and large has not produced a ton of great melodic death metal bands, but Arsis has always been one of better examples. 

I have been a big fan of Arsis since United in Regret.  I missed out on their last album and have not heard them since Starve for the Devil, frontman James Malone's therapeutic album about his struggle with anorexia, was released in 2010.  Malone dealt with some other issues at one point as well and I honestly did not know Arsis was still around at all.  So I was pleasantly surprised when I saw this album released.

Arsis has always been a fairly technical and progressive band, with a strong influence from latter-era Death, both in the vocal delivery and in the constantly-evolving riffwork.  That propensity shines through here with each song delivering riffs galore and Malone's tortured shrieking.  This is an album that must really be listened to closely and with headphones on.  There is so much going on in it that it is difficult to pick up on without focus.  The first couple of times I heard it, I did not listen to it properly and the album did not really do much for me.  Upon hearing it with headphones though, it grabbed my attention and refused to let go.

The lyrical theme this time around deals with horror stories, which is not overly original.  However, Malone's biggest strength is his shockingly good lyrics.  He is a master storyteller and his songs are damn near poetic.  Look at the opening lines to "Death Vow":

To watch and wait in whispers
Within the scald of blisters.
Once interned in the dust below
The vengeful one has risen, cold.

I am not sure yet where this album falls among Arsis's albums I have heard.  The way that it has been growing on me, it is entirely possible it may turn out to be my favorite.  Only time will tell.

Liers in Wait: Spiritually Uncontrolled Art (1992)

This is the second of three posts dealing with pioneering Swedish melodeath reissues released by Darkness Shall Rise Productions.

I am trying really hard not to give this band crap about the misspelling of their name.  It is possible English is not their first language though, so I will give them a pass.  Liers in Wait formed when Grotesque broke up.  Grotesque will be covered tomorrow.  This is really a hidden gem in the world of Swedish melodeath.  The band released just this one EP, appeared on a Slayer tribute, and then split.  Some members went on to form the gothic/doom metal band Diabolique.  The lead vocals on this release were performed by Christofer Johnsson of Therion.  Guitarist Khristian Wåhlin later went on to fame as an artist, painting album covers for the likes of Dissection (Storm of the Light's Bane).

This though, is mostly similar to the At the Gates demo reviewed yesterday.  It is a death metal release with a lot of melody.  It reminds me of a more melodic version of Morbid Angel's Altars of Madness.  The songs have something of an unrestrained, chaotic quality to them.  They are a whirlwind of riffs and drums with melodies flowing freely through them.  It is an almost ethereal yet nightmarish sound.   

It is a shame that this release is so short, being a five-song EP.  As I mentioned, this is all there is for this band.  There were a lot of interesting elements here and a full-length album would have been worthwhile.  But sometimes, we simply cannot get what we want.  And we will likely never see more output from Liers in Wait.

At the Gates: Gardens of Grief (1991)

Last year, Darkness Shall Rise Productions reissued three seminal works of Swedish death metal.  Each of the next three posts will cover those releases.

Demos are not normally supposed to sound this good.  The whole point of demos is that they are raw with low production.  The bands have not typically refined their sound.  And yet, we have this one, which arrived shortly before At the Gates released their debut album.  Honestly, this may be one of the best works At the Gates have ever done, and yes, I am including their landmark Slaughter of the Soul album.

Gardens is a simple, four-song demo clocking in at under 20 minutes.  But the ideas present paved the way for an entire subgenre of music, the Gothenburg melodeath sound.  Now, this demo bares little resemblance to the sound that the band later popularized.  This release is much more of a death metal sound that happens to have a fair amount of melody.  The band's songwriting ability and the performances of each of the musicians are all plainly evident here.  The lyrics are surprisingly insightful and the band displayed an ability to craft impressively progressive song structures.  The latter is unfortunately mostly characteristic of their earlier releases.  By Slaughter of the Soul they had streamlined everything in order to resonate more with wider audiences.  The result was reasonable commercial viability, but it sacrificed some of the soul of the band.

It is clear throughout this release that there was some room for the band to grow.  The vocals definitely improved over time to what they were on this release.  On the other hand, some things changed for the worse after this demo.  As I said before, this is likely one of the better recordings the band ever released.  I have not had it for a long time, so I am still assessing how I feel about it compared to Slaughter of the Soul, but it may be right up there.

Von Doom: From Fear (2017)

Portland, Oregon-based melodic death metal band Von Doom has been around for a few years now, releasing an EP and a demo in their first go-around.  They then went on a brief hiatus before re-forming in 2015.  This single is their first new material since their reformation.  I was not familiar with the band prior to hearing this new song, so I cannot speak to whether it is at all similar to their previous stuff, but I can say that this is a fairly impressive song.  It is a fast, teeth-gnashingly aggressive song with bone-crushing riffs, psychotic vocals, and throbbing bass.  If this is what the band is going to sound like, I want to hear a full-length.

Cataloguing My Metal Collection Pt. 112

ARTIST:  Dissection
ORIGIN:  Stockholm, Sweden
TITLE:  Storm of the Light's Bane
LABEL:  Nuclear Blast
YEAR:  1995
GENRE:  Melodic Black/Death Metal
FAVORITE SONG:  "Thorns of Crimson Death"
NOTES:  I believe that I ordered this through Barnes and Noble in high school.  I remember searching for the most evil-looking album I could find, and this cover art grabbed me.  So I went ahead and ordered it.  I had not heard much like this at that time in my metal listening experience, but something about it really captured my attention.  This is one of my all time Top 5 albums, and for very good reason.  I love listening to this album.