Year: 2024
Total Time: 43:47
Label: Metal Blade
The return, thirteen whole years later and with several changes in the band’s lineup, of the Progressive Death Metallers DAATH is a fact with their fifth album in their career. How did this absence, alongside the change of several members, manifest in their new release? Furthermore, is there still room for DAATH in the current Death Metal scene, especially with a year like the past one, filled with exceptional releases of the genre? Let’s see how the album itself answers us!
The album opens with “No Rest No End,” clean atmospheric guitars for an intro, which are then replaced by heavy riffs, orchestral compositions, and the merciless drumming of Krihm, giving us an admittedly imposing introduction to the album and a sense that the wait was probably worth it. “Hex Unending” follows with the participation of Dan Sugarman of ICE NINE KILLS, with a general onslaught of guitars, drums, and orchestral elements from the beginning of the song. Scattered throughout the song, we find elements from DAATH’s industrial past, as much as necessary to tie the composition together, giving us a sense of the band’s evolution.
Third in line is “Ascension,” my personal favorite, with the participation this time of Dean Lamb of ARCHSPIRE. A very beautiful and dynamic riff opens the piece, followed by more or less the same recipe, orchestral elements, devastating drumming, and plenty of Djent riffs. A very good solo adds something extra to the overall sonic onslaught until around 2:40, where the band slows down a bit, emphasizing atmosphere, which I dare say reminded me excessively of DEATH’s compositions. “Will Ill Desire” kicks off with aggressive guitars, noticeably more savage vocals, and around 1:50 a very nice melody adds something fresh, followed by chaos until the end.
Next is “The Silent Forey,” with Per Nilsson of SCAR SYMMETRY participating, with plenty of groove almost from the beginning, with Krihm weaving behind the drums – what else would we expect after all? – and additional aggressive riffs. Somewhere in the middle of the song, once again, an orchestral composition reminiscent of something from a sci-fi movie will renew your attention to the band’s overall compositional ability. Following is the most progressive song of the album in my opinion, “Unwelcome Return.” It starts with clean guitars, but just for a while, as chaos of blastbeats and riffs takes over, and around 2:20, the orchestral parts strongly reminded me of SEPTIC FLESH.
“Purified By Vengeance” with Mark Holcomb of PERIPHERY starts with quite an alien beginning, combined with groovy riffs and admittedly a very powerful solo towards the end. “Deserving Of The Grave” and the intro remind me even more of SEPTIC FLESH, and at around 4:20, Jeff Loomis’ solo kicks in and makes you forget what preceded it. The album closes with “Into Forgotten Dirt,” with a classic start with groove, but here the Eastern scales in the symphonic and guitars make the difference. Towards the end, the symphonic parts become quite dramatic, leading us to the end of the album!
Conclusion: Personally, I believe we’re dealing with the band’s best album and the culmination of experiments on their previous records. Although I wouldn’t declare myself a fan of this particular genre, I cannot deny this album’s compositional quality and how confidently it will appeal to the fans of Progressive Death Metal.
Rating: 7/10
Editor: Antonis Braikidis
Related Link: DAATH – Official Page
