Taking their name from a Latin quote attributed to Cicero and the theme of this album from Mesopotamian mythology and the epic odyssey of Gilgamesh it is obvious that this German based outfit have an interest in history and ancient civilisations. In fact, this is a lot more easy to determine than actually defining the group by simple genre definition. Active since 2007 the line-up here has been honed down over the years to a duo with M:F vocals, guitar and bass being backed up by drummer D:B. There’s not a huge amount of extra info available about them and there has been a 10-year gap between this and their debut band-entitled album which was released via Eisenwald in 2012.
The epic of Gilgamesh sees our hero embark upon a series of quests looking to gain the secret of immortality and it is based upon a poem. This spills over into the music which verse wise takes us on a journey in a very expressive and poetic sense. The album is wrapped around by the sound of the sea and this is illustrated on the excellent fold out art of the CD package. It’s not an odyssey to actually listen to and you do not need to get entirely wrapped up by narrative and influences in enjoying the music, which is succinctly honed down to a more than accessible 45-minute duration.
Melodic death metal is my first thought as ‘The Way Of All Flesh’ takes form quickly and briskly. It’s tempered by gruff, growly and near gurgling vocals. They don’t diversify much over the course of the album but fit well to the story making you have images that they could be narrated by an ancient god of the sea such as Neptune or Poseidon. There are some blackened surges and blasts occasionally enforcing the backbone via the drummer who gives a powerful performance too. However, as things develop there is plenty of calmness within these waters. The vocals are not a constant companion and the musicianship gets quite indulgent. There are long meandering sections of guitar with near gothic signatures as well as an interlude of classical romantic sounding piano, one track ‘Mourning’ also sees a guest celloist joining in, enriching the experience with solemn melodicism.
Allowing the listener to really indulge themselves and to some extent lose themselves in the music’s intricate layers this is an interestingly fluid listen, one that takes you places and leaves you never knowing quite where you are going to stop off next and what sights and sounds are going to unveil themselves. Music of substance is a constant learning quest and this is no exception of the case, it has made me want to learn more about the source material which I am not au-fait with and along with the care taken with the package and rich production this is an album well worth taking a punt on if you are looking for something that is quite unique and makes the effort to have a sound and style all of its own.
(7.5/10 Pete Woods)
Leave a Reply