A debut full length release for this Swedish quintet who have a couple of demos and an EP available to date with the demos free to download if you choose to. Melodic death metal is a difficult genre to break into and gain recognition as notable entries like Arch Enemy already carry this torch aloft and burning brightly for all comers to observe and reach out for and in most cases fail to attain. Settling your band into a niche that offers originality yet a familiar tone is tremendously difficult as bands have come and gone with varying attempts at this highly accessible field; accessible in terms of the style of music being played and how that is perceived by the listening metal public.
Critically Preach are in no danger of stealing the crown of any of the big players but offer subservient melodic death metal that hundreds of other acts all over the globe play just as well as the album opens with the title track and the moment the riff starts you know you’re in for an ear friendly 35 minutes or so that will pass by smoothly if a little uneventful in the process. Harsh but decipherable vocals are dominant throughout but it’s the guitar work that sets this out with competent, tuneful and deft playing that swaggers along extremely comfortably. Into “Dead Die Young” and that Arch Enemy touch rears its head massively as the pace picks up somewhat but maintains an ethos of control and safety, though the chorus section is very catchy indeed. An attempt at the semi-acoustic intro start to “Gold Rush” could have been longer and bit more emphasised before the riff scurries in as though too afraid for the acoustic piece to stay around for too long. As the track hits the gas the lead work is very good, not breathtaking by any means but proficient enough and ear catching to the degree that I added this plus a couple of others to my future driving trips to gigs on compilations. Whilst I am torn to state that this is a great album, in the scheme of what I receive each month to indulge my ears it is definitely one of the better albums I’ve heard as “Comes To Pass” had me thinking about Sylosis, a band that has gone through this period that Preach are doing and come out of it successfully with a good label deal and I could possibly guarantee that Preach will be picked up sooner or later by someone as their talent is obvious.
Many albums of this ilk fall into the spiked trap of tedium due to their songs all sounding exactly the same, with major difficulties identifying individual tunes just from the opening 15 seconds or so, but Preach have made sure that each tune stands alone showcasing considerable aforethought on the song writing and arrangements. I do like the harmonised guitar breaks that are oft deployed on this release and paramount to the style and whilst not in the reaches of the major players I thoroughly enjoyed them throughout as on “Coin Flip Omen” with its borderline British heavy metal guitar hook that pops in occasionally. As we get to “From Dead Remains” there is a tangent feel of In Flames from their mid period days with some sublime guitar fretwork gymnastics that are extremely addictive and I never tire of hearing them. It may seem as though my review is a little ambivalent but I would stress critically that this band has a lot to offer despite my slight hesitation to pen words of high esteem to this release as that would be a disservice to the band as I think within a year or two you will know this band a lot more and will have seen them on tour supporting a major player or two and that would please me no end.
(7/10 Martin Harris)
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