Genre: Progressive/Symphonic Metal
Label: Facedown
Date of Release: March 26, 2013
CINEMATIC METAL MASTERY
Hope
For The Dying is a band that certainly deserves more recognition than they have
received up to now. Since they formed in 2006 from Jonesboro, Illinois, they
have put out some of the best melodic metal in the scene, starting with their
debut self-titled EP in 2008. While not perfect, there were some great hooks
and melodies to be found in some of the band’s early steps, and the release
landed the band a deal with Christian metal and rock label Facedown Records.
After joining the ranks of other renowned bands such as A Plea For Purging, War
Of Ages, and Hands, the group released their first full-length album in 2011,
“Dissimulation,” which was truly a marvel for the metal genre. It was epic,
heavy, incredibly well-written, and overall a must-have for any modern metal
fan’s music collection. This certainly would put a lot of pressure on the next
release, but it would nonetheless be interesting to see how it would turn out.
This is where the group’s second full-length release in 2013, “Aletheia,” comes
in. Seeing how stellar the preceding release was, it was time to see how these
progressive metal champions would shift from their wondrous debut. The end
result is one of the grandest surprises in metal history.
As
miraculous as this may seem, the musicianship has gotten better since the last
release, which was already very stellar to begin with. The first improvement is
that there is the rather higher abundance of clean singing. Although there was
a fair amount of this singing in “Dissimulation,” there should have been more
of it, because it is done incredibly well. They have a somewhat angelic tone to
them, and you can certainly tell that there is much energy put into them,
helping to deliver some transcendent melodies. In “Aletheia,” they are more
prominent, and this is definitely a step up from before. Another great turn for
the band’s sound is the production, done by Joshua Barber, who has also done
work with groups including Your Memorial and Hands. Although the production
from the last album was very well done, the mixing here is more bold and
explosive, and the instrumentals sounded a tad more united and focused. As a
result, the music sounds incredibly well concentrated and holds a very thick
atmosphere. Both changes are excellent
On
the other hand, in regards to the initial musicianship, everything else is done
excellently as well. As stated earlier, the clean singing is spectacular, but
the aggressive vocals are also powerful. They are mostly composed of mid-pitch
roars, which are already energetic to hold their own weight, but occasionally,
there are also some low growls and high pitches. However, this
few-and-far-in-between characteristic works greatly in the album’s favor like
before, because they leave much more of an impact in how they are placed in
certain parts of the tracks. Along with that, the instrumentals are definitely
elements of “Aletheia” not to be taken lightly. The guitars deliver some
awe-inspiring melodies and riffs throughout the album without falling into mere
noodling. In other words, the melodies flow perfectly with the course of the
music while still remaining explosive and powerful as musical forces on their
own. As for the drums, the percussion is also great in how it balances
flawlessly between simplicity and complexity, and how this balance helps the
buildups and peaks of the music. Overall, the musicianship here is as grand as
ever, and the changes described earlier that it has undergone really makes the
music even more enjoyable than it already was.
Like
in the past releases, “Aletheia” consists of a carefully crafted blend of
melodic, symphonic, and progressive metal. The formula is a compelling listen
as ever, from start to finish, because of how unbelievably well composed it is,
in terms of both the heavier and lighter sides. In terms of the heavy realm,
this album excels in how energetic, melodic, and powerful it is, whether the
tracks are slow or fast-paced. The aggression of the vocals, guitars, and drum
work really shine here, as they all simply teem with vigor and allow listeners
to have their blood boiling. On top of that, the build-up that is used in
certain tracks, including in “Acceptance” and “In Isolation,” makes the heaviness
stand out even more, and sucking the audience in further with gripping hooks and
climaxes to top it all off. This makes the album not just engaging, but very
catchy as well, because this album is packed with so many hooks, melodies, and
other nooks and crannies that will highly likely get stuck to your brain upon
first listen. This is also helped by the very high abundance of synthesizer
effects for orchestral sounds laden throughout the release to give the album an
epic sound. They are placed at the perfect times, whether in the build-ups or
the heavier moments, they are parallel to the guitars in tossing stellar
melodies your way, and never overpower the rest of the music. In short, Hope
For The Dying certainly hits the bullseye in delivering incredibly potent and
cinematic metal.
On
the other side, “Aletheia” is certainly not without its calmer moments. This
category especially includes the interludes “Serenity” and “Through a
Nightmare, Darkly,” in that moments and tracks within this vein see the usage
of unplugged guitars, angelic clean singing, and light but slightly jazzy drum
frameworks. This works to the band’s advantage in a number of ways. Firstly, as
it does with any well-written album, these more peaceful moments add a sense of
dynamicity to the music, and it makes the already stellar melodic metal tread
even more investing. Secondly, it provides some of the build-up to the more
explosive parts of the release, as described earlier. Thirdly, they sound
spectacular. They possess enormous atmosphere and soft yet gripping melodies with
every minute they appear in, and they are performed awesomely. On top of
mastering their own craft in aggressively epic modern metal, the group has also
made it certain that they have truly excelled in conjuring up tracks in this
field.
As
stated earlier, with how high “Dissimulation” set the bar for the group, it
would be really difficult to match up to how much of a musical marvel it was.
However, it has become clear that Hope For The Dying has officially surpassed
themselves with this masterpiece. The musicianship alone is awe-inspiring, and
the couple of changes that the vocals and production underwent serve as an
example of the music’s evolution. The music is really stellar as well,
mastering both the heavier and softer sides of the symphonic-progressive metal
genre. The way the music builds up to its climaxes and explosive moments , as
well as those parts themselves, is composed so well in regards to keeping
listeners engaged and wanting to hear more of it. Every last aspect of this album
is done so well that no metal fan should overlook it. This album is highly
recommended to any fan of both the metal and hardcore genres, and it is just a wondrous
record to listen to, from start to finish. This is the perfect example of an
exceptionally talented band stepping up in their game, even though the music
was already great before. “Aletheia” is a must-have.
Score: 10/10 (Masterpiece)