By Monk
Although they have been kicking around the death metal scene in their native New England for slightly more than a decade, Aversed have not exactly been prolific, not least on the recording front; indeed, they seem to have a knack of releasing new material on a five-year cycle, having regaled us with two EPs, in 2011 and 2016 respectively, before now presenting us with this, their debut full-length offering. Now, you can’t really blame the band members for the delays between releases, as they’ve not exactly been sitting on their arses in the interim periods, instead keeping busy with other projects (the most notable being fellow melodic death dealers Allegaeon and Unflesh).
To be brutally honest, the first thing that strikes you about Aversed’s sound is the sheer contrast in Haydee Irizarry’s vocals: one moment soaring symphonically in a way which would not sound out of place alongside the likes of Amy Lee in particular, the next plumbing the very depths of hell with growls that would do Angela Gossow or Alyssa Gluz-White. And this latter reference is a very apt comparator, as Aversed draw very heavily on the sort of death metal vibe that Arch Enemy have spent so much time crafting and breaking down the barriers for female vocalists working in this particularly difficult sub-genre.
One thing it can be extremely difficult to do in the death metal mien, even when you append the descriptive “melodic” to the start of the genrification, is to include and retain that all-important sense of melody. But, Aversed definitely succeed in this regard, with the beautifully intertwining guitar harmonies of Sungwoo Jeong and Alden Marchand combining in an almost Maiden-esque manner, as demonsrated most clearly on the likes of ‘Laboratory’ (which also contains some very neat Cannibal Corpse-inspired goregrind touches) and the epic title track, with it middle section which strongly echoes, albeit in a much more succinct manner, that of ‘Rime Of The Ancient Mariner’.
The album also possesses a strong sense of thoughtful fluidity, with each of the nine tracks designed to flow seamlessly into and out of one another: you just have to look at the transition between the aforementioned ‘Impermanent’ and ‘Abandoned’, which meld together so well that you could be forgiven for thinking the latter is a continuation of the former.
As indicated, ‘Impermanent’ is a considered and thoughtful album, one which demonstrates its creators’ cognisance of both the strengths and weaknesses of the melodic death metal genre, and accordingly playing to the former. It can only be hoped that it does not live up to its title and this is the start of a more permanent presence from this collective.
- ‘Impermanent’ is out now. You can get your copy HERE.
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