This EP lets loose Vale of Pnath’s frantic melodic death metal in four relatively short, yet extremely riff-packed, songs. With the amount of melodies and different sections each song contains, the mere 4-5 minutes that each song takes feels like much more of a musical journey than one would expect from a song that short. Each song relies on a few components: speed, melodic intricacy, harmony, and ferocity. While the heaviness of other bands in the genre is lost slightly in this EP, the melody more than makes up for this lack of weight.
The album’s sound is very clean and reminiscent of a mechanical apocalypse. Every instrument is at the forefront while none overshadow any others. Even the bass is as discernable as the guitars are. This brings your attention to Alan’s fantastic speed and accuracy, the type of playing you’d only expect from seasoned guitarists. Speaking of the guitarists, Vance and Mikey unleash light speed fingering and brilliant harmonies that any guitarist should be envious of. On drums Jeremy pumps the music up into an all out frenzy with his high speed precision. David’s vocals adopt the low and high ranges of traditional melodic death metal. They are harsh enough to add to the mood but do not distract from the instruments.
Amidst all the ferocity, there is a calm beauty in the songs, most noticeable in “Carcosa.” It is really refreshing to see a highly technical band play interesting music filled with not only difficult-to-play sections, but always managing to retain your focus with the beauty of the music.
Despite a few techy break-downs, this album is filled with nothing but smooth melodic sections delivered in rapid-fire succession. This EP is recommended for any fan of The Black Dahlia Murder, and it will definitely have you yearning for more music from this fantastic band.
8.5/10
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