Artist: Vallenfrye
Title: A Fragile King
Genre: Death Metal
Release Date: 28th October 2011
Label: Century Media Records
Album Review
VALLENFRYE is a bit of a cathartic project for PARADISE LOST’s guitarist Gregor Mackintosh. After a difficult struggle with losing his father to prostate cancer, Mackintosh wanted to create something that would pay respects to his father’s musical appreciation, namely Death Metal. Along with a host of other members who participated in bands like MY DYING BRIDE, AT THE GATES, and DOOM, VALLENFRYE has fitting, gritty sound that will appeal to fans from BLOODBATH to early PARADISE LOST or even INCANTATION. The first thing to notice about the music is the heavy distortion surrounding the guitars, sounding almost like someone turned up the bass too loud. ‘All Will Suffer’ trudges along with a mid paced rhythm and howling solos which show very strong PARADISE LOST influences but is still heavy enough to be considered Death Metal. Oddly enough, the vocals are a bit unscathed and are clear in their guttural manner, which is very impressive for a “grit n’ chug” album. Mackintosh shows his mettle as not only a competent guitar player but also a vocalist, rivalling the growls of his band mate Nick Holmes before PARADISE LOST’s experimentation into Gothic Metal versus Gothic Doom. ‘Seeds’ is a bit slower and touches on Doom Metal more, and the melody can be heard much clearer in the solo work of the guitars.
There are faster tracks that touch more on the INCANTATION influences such as ‘As The World Collapses’ and ‘The Divine Have Fled’. Here the band continues to keep their rhythms but include more drum presence to help speed up the song. ‘The Divine Have Fled’ even touches upon some BOLT THROWER with the right tuning, although they move away from it with the guitar solo which is their best yet since it includes some reach Eastern melodies before switching to a faster, more typical technical one. The final track ‘The Grim Irony’ merges Doom and Death Metal together for long, winding chords that are sometimes layered with melodic bits from the other guitars performed by Glencross and Mully. Unfortunately during these sections the music just sounds a bit too much and overtakes the vocals. It adds some more mystical elements that could border Funeral Doom, but compared to clear delivery for the past ten tracks, it tends to detract from the music rather than add to it. However, one thing is clear: the pain and agony of Mackintosh’s loss, along with contemplation of loss and death in society itself, is present in emotional weight. While some Death Metal bands can tend to be cliché and generic in their lyrical and theme delivery, VALLENFRYE is a heavy offering that is sure to get a strong response from fans, either identifying with the work or feeling sympathy. Hopefully Mackintosh will continue the project, although if this was a one-time thing it may stand with greater weight for the overall discography of VALLENFRYE.
Tracklist
01. All Will Suffer - 4:10
02. Desecration - 4:56
03. Ravenous Whore - 3:02
04. Cathedrals Of Dread - 3:52
05. As The World Collapses - 3:14
06. A Thousand Martyrs - 3:25
07. Seeds - 4:46
08. Humanity Wept - 2:18
09. My Black Siberia - 3:50
10. The Divine Have Fled - 3:42
11. The Grim Irony - 4:40
Line-up
Gregor Mackintosh – Vocals and Lead Guitar
Hamish Glencross – Rhythm and Lead Guitars
Mully – Rhythm Guitars
Scoot – Bass
Adrian Erlandsson – Drums
Website
http://www.vallenfyre.com
Cover Picture
Rating
Music: 8
Sound: 8
Total: 8 / 10
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