Artist: Descending
Title: New Death Celebrity
Genre: Melodic Death Metal
Release Date: 28th October 2011
Label: Massacre Records
Album Review
‘New Death Celebrity’ is the second album from Greek metal outfit DESCENDING. With the success of their debut album, they’ve gained international success from touring with the likes of fellow country-band SEPTIC FLESH and were invited by American Metal internationals like LAMB OF GOD to perform on certain sections of their tours. With their name spread out around the world, through either fans who have seen the band or listeners/ readers of reviews, DESCENDING were ready to unleash their second album, which is supposedly heavier than the first. While DESCENDING is a Melodic Death Metal band that sounds similar to the likes of more recent IN FLAMES mixed with DARKANE, they also take a lot of cues from Thrash Metal. Right from the opening track, ‘No Other Gods Before Me’, the drums carry on that extremely ear-catching quality of sticking to certain rhythms that tend to go off in bursts as opposed to seamlessly tearing through like the rest of the instruments on the track. They carry almost a militant hammering to them. The guitars are a bit more complex, focusing on riffs rather than extreme solos and adding heaping doses of melody in them, even if they are somewhat repetitive. Vocally, the singer has a mixed snarl and sing to his voice, making it sound more layered than it really is. This is where the IN FLAMES influence really seems to come in.
Tracks like ‘Shared Planet’ have a heavier structure but also brief interludes of melody that is rare to hear from the steamrolling that this album has done so far. Compared to something like ‘The Energy’, which seems to languish along at a slower pace while sounding equally ferocious, both tracks offer fans something different to enjoy while staying in the vein of album’s sound overall. DESCENDING doesn’t experiment too much here, although there is a touch of Groove Metal on ‘Escape The Mirror’ which features slow, segmented chugs of guitar that pick up as the song goes on. Some could compare this pulsing rhythm to the likes of Finland’s CHILDREN OF BODOM. The track ‘The Ghost Of Nation Past’ features a bit of spoken word bits mixed in with the vocals, which sound more studio enhanced, giving them a soulless, robotic tones at times. Like the track ‘The Energy’, the song structure is mostly Melodic Death Metal that doesn’t seem as heavy as it is really is, keeping everything at a mid pace while using the guitar notes to build up an epic atmosphere; the longer the chords hold, the more it feels like a dramatic symphony. Overall, this album is even more solid than DESCENDING’S debut. It may not feature the standard keyboards or the alternating harsh/ clean vocal talents, but the music is certainly intriguing in its own way. DESCENDING are wavering between Melodic Death and Modern Metal, an excellent balance for fans who are into any sort of Metal sub genre to try and find a liking to this.
Tracklist
01. No Other Gods Before Me - 4:44
02. Suicide Promise - 4:07
03. Until I Generate - 4:35
04. How Much This Life Weights? - 3:39
05. I Keep Returning - 4:00
06. The Energy - 5:08
07. Shared Planet - 5:24
08. Escape The Mirror - 4:25
09. The Ghost Of Nation Past - 3:43
10. Path To Healing - 5:26
Line-up
Jon Simvonis - Vocals & Screams
Constantine - Guitar
Theo - Guitar
Noir - Bass & Vocals
Nick Vell - Drums & Percussion
Website
http://www.myspace.com/officialdescending
Cover Picture
Rating
Music: 8
Sound: 8
Total: 8 / 10
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