Premiere: Symbolik Guide Us Through the “Corridors of the Consumed”
This one’s been a long time coming.
Nine years is a long time for a band to wait between releases; members can come and go, perspectives can change and with it musical identities as musicians write to new experiences. It’s more than enough time for a band to redefine themselves, as seems to be the case with Symbolik. Pathogenesis was an aggressive piece of work that played to a lot of melodeath tropes of the time; Emergence retains that melodic edge, but it’s shaping up to be a more refined, more distinct effort. It’s a concept album that, in the band’s words, promises to “[implement] symphonic and neo-classical ideas along with a call and response structure that will guide you through the story as you go.” I’m excited to hear how it all flows together, but for now, we’re getting a little taste of the larger whole with “Corridors of the Consumed.”
A cursory listen will tell you the band has joined the Inferi and Vale of Pnath school of neoclassical tech death, but listen closer and you’ll hear some fun twists on the formula. Those buttery-smooth arpeggios slide perfectly into the lilting cadence of the primary themes, working their way into actual riffs instead of the simple up-and-down you typically hear from sweep-happy guitarists. The band’s more aggressive side comes out in a furious 16th-note attack with a flawless transition out of the solo, which is a lot more measured and lyrical than one might expect from a tech death band. “Corridors” shows off the musicians’ virtuosity in a way that’s both flashy and tasteful, and it makes me that much more stoked to hear the final product.
Emergence comes out on April 10th via The Artisan Era, available on Bandcamp (where you can also hear the previous single, “Invoking Oblivion”) and the label’s web store. Be sure to send Symbolik some love on Facebook as well.
