De Lirium's Order - Veniversum

Review by Tentaclesworth.


The band in question today is De Lirium’s Order. Their signature brand of tech death is unparalleled. Everything about their latest offering Veniversum is tasteful and unique. The guitar playing in particular is the bands biggest draw. Right off the bat, the track ‘Autistic Savant’ smacks the listener with some of the most prolific guitar playing since Death. The note choice, phrasing and harmonies that the guitarists come up with is simultaneously catchy, melodic and very original. Now, I mention Death for good reason. Fans of Death will be familiar with Chuck Schuldiner's innovative soloing, signature harmonies and groundbreaking riffs. De Lirium’s Order guitarist Juha Kuplainen really fleshes out and expands upon Schuldiner’s style (circa Sound of Perseverance) in a way that I’m sure Chuck himself would be proud of. Essentially bridging the gap between Death and spiritual successors, Obscura. By using Death’s style as a foundation, De Lirium’s Order have created their own unique style that is instantly recognizable. A true feat considering how many parallels can be drawn between bands these days.

There are also a lot of really progressive elements about Veniversum. They manage to sneak in a lot of outliers like symphonic elements, bluesy solos, piano sections and more apparent things like the odd bout of clean singing. Every little subtlety they put into their music gives each song it’s own identity nullifying the typical ‘it’s death metal all the time and eventually it just sounds like bleh’ complaint that a lot of death metal releases suffer from.

Even if you’re turned off by the notion of death metal, I urge you to give this album a spin. Just to get a taste of the intricate and unique tones and riffs. You won’t be blown away by the vocals or drums, but it’s easy to appreciate the uniqueness of De Lirium’s Order.

[Go to the post to view the Bandcamp player]

Gods of Eden - Gods of Eden

Review by Tentaclesworth.


Before I get into the meat and potatoes, I’d just like to say hi and thank Max for asking me to contribute to the site. I also write for Heavy Blog is Heavy under the moniker ‘Tentaclesworth’ and I’ve decided to branch out a little bit. I look forward to showing you some great underground music!

Gods of Eden are one of the best things to come out of Australia in a long time. The four track EP they released last year are mindblowingly original. Essentially, it’s progressive symphonic technical death metal with a ton of surprises. The second you hit play, god-like shredding snatches your attention and before you have time to admire the insane string-work of our Australian quintet, they throw another curveball at you. Beautiful synths and orchestrations take the ridiculous shredding to the next level. Then the vocals kick in. A decidedly old school thrash approach for the harsher stuff to accompany the relentless attack of synths, guitars and blast beats. As we venture into the next minute of the first track, we get to a spine chilling clean section with angelic clean vocals and more orchestrations that’ll have you singing “Gods of Eden, languishing a top of the stolen throne of slaves” at the top of your lungs while tears roll down your face. Then it makes way for a heavier section where the vocalist gets a chance to show you his brutal side while the band caters to the younger crowd with some syncopated chugs. Another clean chorus and then another curveball. An interlude with flamenco guitars and more clean vocals with heavy reverb reminiscent of a Nile without the death metal.

Sounds pretty crazy right? Well don’t let a blender of awesome things turn you off because Gods of Eden are more than the sum of their parts. Everything comes together in a remarkable way. Mind you I’ve only described the first half of the first song. There are so many more things to be discovered throughout these four songs. Piano solos, electronic influenced djent and enough earworms to make the radio jealous. There’s something here for everyone and you’re only doing yourself a disservice if you don’t check it out.

[Go to the post to view the Bandcamp player]