{"id":39403,"date":"2016-01-12T15:00:05","date_gmt":"2016-01-12T21:00:05","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.toiletovhell.com\/?p=39403"},"modified":"2016-01-12T14:29:19","modified_gmt":"2016-01-12T20:29:19","slug":"prog-death-metal-or-die-trying","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/toiletovhell.com\/prog-death-metal-or-die-trying\/","title":{"rendered":"(Prog) Death Metal Or Die Trying"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Opeth<\/strong> has been distancing\u00a0themselves from death metal for years. Who will you look to for prog\/death when they’re gone?\u00a0<\/p>\n

Paean\u00a0<\/strong><\/h3>\n

\"Paean1\"<\/a><\/p>\n

If you’ve ever wanted to hear Death’s<\/strong> earlier forays into progressive waters reinterpreted by a melodeath band, Scorn of Eternity<\/em> might have what you seek. The band has managed to glue together a variety of\u00a0elements, atmospheric rock and post-rock included, into their music, though never parting from their death metal influence\u00a0and never allowing their influences to separate themselves from the death metal found in their roots.<\/p>\n

Vocals are handled with a deep and dry growl, and while it’s remarkably strong, I found myself craving a more varied approach, something that would better have represented the multiple faces of their music. This is, unfortunately, where the band falls short on the whole. Scorn of Eternity<\/em> features hooks, memorable lead-work and good riffs. However, there’s also blander, nondescript guitarwork and unremarkable riffs. The band knows how to use dynamics but doesn’t bank on it.\u00a0The smooth, atmospheric parts are the ones that often lack memorable features, and due to this, combined with a few lackluster riffs, both the songs and the album feel stretched.<\/p>\n

But hey, it’s much easier to point out flaws than strengths, and this is only Paean’s<\/strong> (self-released) debut full-length. The band has already developed an almost virtuoso-like ability to make the different elements work together, and their technical abilities are used to advance the songs, not to shine on their own, which in my eyes is commendable. Furthermore, the band mostly steers away from endless use of odd time-signatures, sudden tempo changes and challenging rhythmic-work, growing and nurturing their songs instead of rushing them (not that there’s anything inherently wrong with the aforementioned “quirks”). Yet they never appear anything but a skilled group of musicians. Estonia is not exactly known for a vibrant metal scene (outside its borders, anyway), so Paean is a welcome addition to the fold.<\/p>\n