Formed in the late 90s and releasing their debut EP in 2000 under the title of ‘Dying In Confusion’ this Turkish death metal act also penned a full length in 2002 called ‘Interment…’ a couple of years after, before folding in 2004. Said EP was centred on brutal death metal with guttural vocals amidst a burgeoning technical styling whereas ‘Interment…’ was more akin to the melodic deathliness that appears on this sophomore that has appeared almost two decades later after the band reformed in 2018.

Listening to ‘Dawn Of A New Epoch’ thrust me back into the mid-90s when I went through a phase of listening to virtually every melodic death metal act that appeared from Scandinavia. Indeed, I bought as much of it as possible and gorged on bands like At The Gates, In Flames, Dark Tranquillity, Hypocrisy, etc. I still listen to and buy a lot of it and despite the vilification of how some of these bands have now gone I still enjoy their music but have since moved into the new breed of melodic death metal acts of which Cidesphere can proudly count themselves, as their sophomore is a fine example of how to construct aggressive music and counterbalance it with a pristine pinpoint proficiency.

Opening their album is ‘Reborn Into Extinction’ where the dramatic brief fade-in launches in with a fine rampaging riff base backed up by a dense rhythm section that enables the song so much heavier. The vocals are hugely guttural but suit the song writing style as they possess a demonic toning which I particularly liked throughout the album, as ‘Plague Of Greed’ continues which jumps in nicely before unleashing a cool riff change with accompanying rapid tempo shift. ‘Living Scars’ is a cracking track, initialising with acoustic guitar, the sombre beginning is morosely serene before the empowering surge with huge double kick bulldozes in, as this song has a much darker aura that has a Hypocrisy styling.

I also thoroughly enjoyed ‘Sadist’ with its eerie unsettling opening noises being batted aside for the high tempo snare work and abrasive guitar riff. The song is closer to an all death metal track here as the vocals plunge down an octave or two and the guitar work takes on a Cannibal Corpse twist. But as it progresses it diverts into technical sequencing where the vocals become ever more demonic and beastly making the song a real standout next to the title track which follows it which is immense. After the brief acoustic phase the song erupts with a fabulous double kick engulfing which again is brief but swamps the track with massive impact. As the song settles into its groove you feel the demolition of the double bass as it smashes in with inexorable force making this my favourite on the album.

Returning to more melodic territory ‘Death Is Only Ours’ the echoes of In Flames’ golden years ring loudly with high velocity tuneful riffing blazing forth harnessing the massive melodic nature that comes with this genre as the band ensures that every song bristles with energy. This tune also boasts, albeit very loosely, a slight clean vocal snippet that would go unnoticed as the song inserts a cool catchiness as ‘Hate Design’ reins the speed hugely. The songs chunkier riffing foundation allows it to furrow its intent gradually before the inevitable stamp on the accelerator, even though the song has a moodier ethos. There is a lingering ingrained hook that appears, disappears and reappears to great effect throughout the song that I really liked in this song, like a ghostly apparition to some extent that sets the songs melody apart from the others as the album concludes with the atmospheric ‘Sui Caedere’. The desolation and ambient soundscape is linked to the songs despondent and lamenting toning and comes across as a lengthy outro piece.

This maybe a step back to a time when melodic death metal wholly ruled the 90s but Cidesphere have penned a masterful album that all fans of this genre should get their hands on and if you’re fan of any of the bands I’ve mentioned from the 90s especially but also fans of Soilwork, very early Arch Enemy, mid era Carcass, Omnium Gatherum, Nightrage, Mors Principium Est, Insomnium, etc then give this band a look, you won’t be disappointed I assure you.

(9/10 Martin Harris)

https://www.facebook.com/cidesphere

https://testimonyrecords.bandcamp.com/album/cidesphere-dawn-of-a-new-epoch