Dyssebeia in Greek Mythology was the spirit and personification of Impiety, the term which defines sacrilege. Notably, it was called upon by the Olympian goddess Hera to punish Heracles when she was rather pissed off at Zeus because he was too busy nailing anything/everything that caught his eye and creating plenty of illegitimate demigods.

Very brief overview of classical mythology and antiquity aside, Dyssebeia are a four-piece death metal band from Switzerland who are signed to Transcending Obscurity for the release of their debut full length album, “Garden Of Stillborn Idols”, an 8-track, 43 minute long offering of Blackened and Progressive tinted Melodic Death Metal. With the accompanying information citing this would be for those who appreciate the works of In Mourning, Eternal Storm, Dark Tranquillity and At The Gates. With little else to say, let’s see what this garden has in store for us.

“Mors Tua, Vita Mea”, the Latin phrase which translates to a battle cry of sorts ‘Your Death, My Life’, opens the album and right away the descriptions of Blackened and Progressive tinted Melodic Death Metal are rather appropriate in describing Dyssebeia. The haunting intro quickly builds to a massive slice of Melodically charged Death Metal with intricacies often found in the more progressive minded end of the musical spectrum. Tight and precise, the buzzing guitar and bass lay down riffs whilst the drums keep it all locked in and the vocals have a real snarl and bite to them with their rasping delivery. Just in the initial track alone, there is a wide spread of sounds and approaches on offer, and it might take a few listens at first to fully appreciate the compositional work, once you notice it, you cannot help but be impressed. The melodic execution is delivered to a high standard, whether it is in the atmospheric and haunting sections or the sweeping lead section which crashes through, it certainly has similarities with In Mourning and Eternal Storm.

“Retribution” has a harsher edge as it charges forwards. Spearheaded by throaty snarls and growls, it has a good balance of intensity and melody like that of Dark Tranquillity. The surging pace, intricate arrangements and hard-hitting vocal assault show more aggression in the approach of the band whilst still retaining the clever compositional focus which was evident in the opening track. With some slick lead work, the track’s guitars are a whirlwind of activity, from descending runs to blistering pedal tone’s to buzzing riffs, it doesn’t let up until the track finishes in a howl of feedback. “Moon Bearer” is another surging track, once again spearheaded by some fierce vocals, but whereas the last track had a more melodic background, the vocals here are just as piercing as the music backing them up, leaning to something more akin to At The Gates. High tempo for the most part, it’s a track which surges forwards, only briefly slowing down to let you get your breath enough for it to be knocked out of you once again. With an opening as diverse as these three tracks, the question lingers; is the rest of the album of the same quality?

Yes.

The halfway point of the album is marked by the fourth track, “Sacrificed on The Threshold”, a hugely atmospheric and melodic metal offering very reminiscent of Eternal Storm. Leaning more into the Progressive side of things, the clean intro to the track quickly descends into a furious and intricate dance of guitar and drums, conducted by the vocals and their snarls. The track shifts from the more intense pseudo-blast sections to slower paced ones which have more emphasis on melody and this careful and intricate arrangement of things shows just how the band can balance the more extreme influences of their sound with their more expressive musical ideas. It’s a brilliant track and as it ends in some feedback, it shifts straight into the haunting arpeggios of the 5th track, “Hatch”. With a darker feel to the sound, ‘Hatch’ takes a slow approach, building up with a buzzing melodic drone and some intricate drum patterns before it hits that blackened style with the atonal stabs, huge vocal roars and dissonant undercurrent., again following on and retaining the momentum from the previous track.

“Black Swarm” is a Melodic Death Metal offering which is one of the more energetic performances on the album. With plenty of pace and aggression behind it, the track starts out like any MDM screamer would with its buzzing guitars, pummelling rhythm, and snarling vocals, but as it progresses, a more progressive edge surfaces, leading to twisting and turbulent rhythms, jarring chord stabs and chaotic arrangements. It’s very reminiscent of In Mourning on their ‘Monolith’ album and for me, that is high praise. “Funeral Ink” is the penultimate track, and once again, it leans back to the more atmospheric delivery initially with its intricate clean intro. This of course shifts towards a more intense approach and the rhythm work on this track is superb. The drums rumble away with an impressive display of technique and at the same time, they manage to not just rely on the common approach of blasting through everything in their path. The vocals have that intense blackened roar once more and it certainly sets things up for an interesting finale.

“Apophenia” is the tendency to perceive a connection or meaningful pattern between unrelated or random things (such as objects or ideas) aka Conspiracy Theories. It is also the final track of the album and much like the previous seven tracks, it stays true to the musical approaches taken thus far. Blistering riffs hammer away relentlessly as huge vocals come crashing down. The intricate web of guitars forms a complex maze of pedal tone riffs and runs in the first half of the track before it expands to unveil a massive sounding mid-section. This in turn shifts towards a pseudo-blackened section which has the honour of closing the track out with its buzzing melodic guitars and massive vocals.

In all, Dyssebeia have put together a fantastic sounding album, but it is an album where you will need to give it your full attention. There are so many layers to the band’s composition here and even now on subsequent listens, there are parts of the arrangements which stand out more prominently than they did on previous listens. On a compositional front, this is an excellent release. On a delivery front, this album is good, but it just needs that hook to really draw you in on the initial listens. Had I been given this album to listen to casually, there might have been plenty of things I didn’t pick up on and I might have found myself losing focus on listening to it more frequently than I did on my initial listens to it when writing about it.

It is a good debut offering from a band with promise, but you must give it your undivided attention.

(8/10 Fraggle)

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https://dyssebeia.bandcamp.com/album/garden-of-stillborn-idols