Release Date: 9 February 2024
Song Count: 6
Duration: 42 minutes, 5 seconds
Rating: 7.5/10
Description:
Song Count: 6
Duration: 42 minutes, 5 seconds
Rating: 7.5/10
Description:
From a Cologne-based progressive death metal band by the Morbid Angel-inspired name of Chapel Of Disease, here comes Echoes of Light, their fourth album since their foundation in 2008 and their second under the aforementioned record label. Starting off as a full-on death metal project before expanding its scope and taste to something more transformative and melodic as time has gone on, this album stands as the final evolution to this long-winded journey, containing the fundamentals of its genre and origins whilst also bringing in musical elements to the table rarely before seen in such combinations and forms. Plus, I suppose, this could be a well-worth break from the giant surge of black metal I've been chipping away at this month so far.
Highly stylised and melodic means in which guitars are played, unconventional time signatures, vocals altering between clean, heartfelt singing and husky growls going on full power, and constant switches in energy and tone permeate through all six tracks as they stretch over time-wise and make full use out of their 5+ minute duration. Though perhaps a little repetitive-feeling at times when not playing much attention to the arrangement and progression of the songs, the devil lies in the details, subtleties and aspects that shine when given full concentration and interest, leading to the listening experience practically turning into a game of spotting whenever new things appear. Curiously, in spite of categorically falling under the label of death metal, the signature unforgiving harshness associated with many works of the subgenre seems to be largely missing here, bar for the vocals on occasion, and with the weirdly more appealing sound of the album comes an overall far more dynamic and flexible sound to it all than one may expect.
Though it took at least one more listen for me to have things click proper with this one, once that effect does come through, one truly gets to witness and appreciate every small thing that plays a role in Echoes of Light that makes it sound so unlike most other death metal albums out there. In spite of not going in with high expectations or even a particularly favourable first impression at first, the tracks in their ability to capture dramatics and emotion whilst also displaying great musical skills and being interesting to listen to ended up thoroughly winning me over, and suspicion has arisen that I may not be an outlying case of that occurring, either. Certainly one I would recommend checking out if looking for something new and captivating.