Nothing in the world of Death Metal, or Metal for that matter surprises me any more, sad I know. Yet when you are so obsessed with something you can’t help but foresee every possible outcome, whether it be awful Metal covers of Pop songs or Slamming Brutal Death Metal bands who use Austin Powers as lyrical themes (check out Mister Bigglesworth), I’ve seen it all. I’m not even surprised about the current trends of Brutal Deathcore or Tech Death Metal, and in fact my lack of surprise has only been a boon in my later years as I begin to mature like a fine wine. I now see new ideas as positive prospects and embrace them, or at the very least give them a chance.
One band aiming to further shatter the boundaries of Death Metal are the French Progressive Death Doom Metallers Epitaphe. The band formed in 2016 and a couple of years later in 2018 they unveiled their demo, simply titled Demo MMXVII. Now signed to Aesthetic Death the band aim to bring a big sound to the table, one that is full of woe and depravity yet still retains a certain swath of beauty about it. Here in 2019 Epitaphe unleash their debut full length, I. Can this release prove to the world that Epitaphe have a spark of ingenuity or will it fade away into the passages of time?
Opening track Smouldering Darkness which clocks in at just under twenty minutes is a mammoth trudge of riff heavy proportions. Yet this guitar work is somewhat dissimilar from other Doom laden Death Metal bands in that it is also at points highly melodic. Not so much so that it becomes Pop heavy like Melodic Death Metal (excuse the slur, but I feel it’s true) but more in a sense of intrigue. Vocally the track and album thereafter are equally diverse going from hallowed whispers to deep almost Funeral Doom gutturals at points, all of these swirling differences keep this album afloat and solidify it within the confines of Progressive Metal to some degree. The transition into Embers is something of beauty and the continuing themes of progression and interesting switches between the melodic and devastating carry on with great mass. There are even touches upon Black Metal at points, namely again through the well ranged vocals, which become the very embodiment of Extreme Metal.
Rêveries bridges the gap at the middle of the album, it is a delicate acoustic, instrumental track which further shows us the towering talents of Epitaphe. It also becomes the subject of much relief in an album so laden with sodden Death Metal carnage, it is comparable to a tranquil walk through a meadow, proof again that I’m not surprised by anything in Metal any more. The meadows are soon reduced to swamps however as Downward Stream crashes in with automatic rifle drumming and a continuation of prior Death Doom troupes. The album comes to a slow closure with the climactic Monolithe, a powerhouse of Ambient, Drone, Doom and Death Metal all piled into one with addition sub-connotations of Blackened Death, Funeral Doom, Melodic Death, and Progressive Death Metal. This represents the bands tour de force, a collective strength of almighty proportions that is every bit as awe inspiring as it is apocalyptic and damning.
When selecting albums to review I tend to go off of a few things, have I heard said band before? Do I like said band? Have I heard of said band? Yet sometimes this applies to very little artists upon a list, it is then that I make the bolder move of blindly going to bands that seem appealing. Often when this is the case I go in with a very open mind which can either lead to total elation or utter dismay. I’m pleased to say that in the case of Epitaphe the first statement is true. This is a band with a plethora of talent, a band whom aren’t afraid to think outside the box and finally a band that are in my opinion criminally underrated.
(9/10 George Caley)
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