Formed in Kuwait and based in Dubai, Voice of the Soul are a three piece death metal outfit who draw deeply from the Scandinavian melodic death metal movement, citing Dark Tranquility, Insomnium and Opeth as big influences on them. After a critically acclaimed EP “Into Oblivion” brought them success in 2011, Voice of the Soul finally unleash their debut full-length “Catacombs” on Europe – the album has been digitally available since late 2014 in the Gulf region. Let’s take a look in the depths and see what we unearth.
“Desolation” opens the album with a clean guitar over some atmospheric synths which gives a very haunting like feel. When the bass joins in, the synths swell and the melody changes slightly, increasing the haunting feel before it suddenly cuts out. The sudden cut segues into “Perpetual Deception” which has that Scandinavian flair to it but with more harshness in the guitars. The intro fades into a dramatic piano and synth section before it kicks into the verse. Fully distorted, it follows a similar melody to the intro but retains the piano. Vocally, the growling is powerful and you can tell the Insomnium influence right off with how the deep growls and synths compliment the rest of the band. The rhythm work is tight, especially with the precise double kick fills from the drums and the pace is powerful, but it doesn’t feel as slow as it initially comes across. The switching between clean and harsh vocals towards the end of the track comes unexpected and it works well over the breakdown which sets up for the outro which features a well played melodic solo. Overall, a great way to open the album.
“Pendulum” has a more upbeat pace to it. Heavy chugging guitars and pounding rhythm drive the song on and the precise drum and guitar bursts when executed are great. Halfway through the song, the bass picks up, getting more noticeable and heavier and the song has that breakdown feel to it. Vocally, the growls are fantastic, really adding that extra edge and when the tricky guitar fills come into play round the 2:20 mark, it really locks the song down. Twisting and turning riffs, going back and forth much like the name of the track suggests, the breakdown continues with more dynamic guitar work, but it does feel like it has been hastily put together as it switches between the various parts in the outro. “Quarantine” starts off rather slow paced. The synth and guitar interplay in the intro builds up a dramatic feeling – the slightly dissonant guitars jar against the grandiose synths before the song really kicks in with a pushing feel, drawing you in to headbang along. Aggressive and harsh, the way the song unfolds is quite different to how you thought it might given its intro. The curveball works great! There’s a fantastic groove heavy section round the 3 minute mark, complete with squealing pinch harmonics just to help brighten it up, and the switch to the more melodic section at the 3:40 mark comes off great leading into a melodic solo with a powerful bassline. The song ‘cleans’ up to a haunting feel again post solo and gradually fades out.
“Cold Rupture” comes in from the silence with a slow piano/bass intro. This gradually builds up with the addition of the drums and the guitar and the steady pace and feel is totally different to the previous tracks. Slower, more melodic and less aggressive in its sound, the vocals are clean and the bright sounding piano works great with the hard and almost cold sounding guitars. When the growls come in, they are well placed and the bass really stands out (3:15). When the lead melody comes in at the 4:30 section, it really livens up in the sound but keeps the slow and steady pace. The bright melody over the steady hard sounding guitars works great and overall, the complete change in feel of the album works surprisingly well. “The Mist” opens with some samples and is piano/synth based instrumental filler which has nothing of note to write about. One could say it is simply a transition from the previous track into “Perdition”, the following one which starts off with just the bass. After 45 seconds, the guitars kick in with a precisely played riff over the steady bass and powerful double kick. The death metal feel of the album comes back on this one and the intense guitars really hammer it home. Precise in the riffs and fills, then jarring and harsh sounding in the chords, it creates an uncomfortable sound which works fantastic and acts as a wakeup call after the change of style before it.
“Defiled” keeps that harsh sound going with the solid rhythm work and dramatic sounding backing synths. At times it sounds almost decapitated like with its gratuitous double kick and rapid fire bursts of guitar heavy with groove and the harsh vocals are some of the best on the album. Towards the end of the track, there is another solo which is intricate sounding and really stands out over the backing synths as it twists and turns, working its way to the final breakdown like outro section. “Images Subside” closes the album and it has that steady pace once again in a similar fashion to Quarantine, earlier on in the album. The steady pace, switching vocal styles and heavy guitars really work well together. The break in the middle of the song slows it down, allowing the mood to build up again just in time for another well delivered solo which leads into an instrumental outro which is slow paced and gradually fades out.
“Catacombs” is an interesting album. It’s not as intense as some of the melodic death metal albums released in the past year or two, but it does have its moments. It works well as a whole, but you can drift off whilst listening to it and lose track of where you are up to sometimes. It’s worth a listen and hopefully Voice of the Soul can follow this one up with a more focused effort.
(6.5/10 Fraggle)
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