TORCHBEARER
- Death Meditations (2011)
Vic Records
Nearly six years after their sophomore effort
“Warnaments”, Swedish outfit TORCHBEARER return with their third full-length,
“Death Meditations”, and the long wait has clearly worked in the band’s favour.
The result is a striking album that confirms their place among the more
interesting acts in the extreme metal underground.
Musically, the band moves fluidly between death and
black metal, yet never at the expense of memorability. Their songs are catchy,
with hooks that linger long after the record has finished, drawing on the
strongest traits of both genres. The rawness and heft of death metal meet the
classic, enchanting melodies of its melodic offshoot, while the coldness and
extremity of black metal are underpinned by the imposing, dark keyboards typical
of the atmospheric, majestic strain of the style.
This stylistic blend is carried by the sheer ability
of the musicians involved. Their technical command translates into carefully
crafted compositions, with elaborate riffs and intricate solos that heighten
both the beauty and the sharpness of the material, while lending the album a
subtle progressive tint. The production does justice to the writing, giving
each element room to breathe without dulling its edge.
Lyrically, “Death Meditations” is a concept work
inspired by the thoughts and philosophy of “Hagakure”, the book on the way of
the samurai, a theme that suits the album’s austere, disciplined and fatalistic
character well.
An engaging and impressive release, “Death
Meditations” comes highly recommended to all fans of extreme metal.
Christine
Parastatidou
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