Majesties unveils its first album.
Recently formed in the United States by Tanner Anderson (guitar/vocals/drums, Celestiial, Obsequiae, live for Panopticon), Carl Skildum (guitar, Inexorum, Antiverse) and Matthew Kirkwold (bass, Antiverse, Inexorum), the band revives Swedish Melodic Death Metal with Vast Reaches Unclaimed, to be released in early 2023 via 20 Buck Spin.
With In Yearning, Alive, the first track, we immediately understand that the trio knows exactly what they’re talking about, mixing sharp jerky riffs with visceral screams and a cold atmosphere. Although the mix remains quite Old School, it leaves each element in its place to highlight the leads, just like on the heady The World Unseen and its soaring melodies which perfectly complement the aggressive and lively basis. Blasts and double kicks answer striking screams just like on Our Gracious Captors which seems slightly softer without ever denying the effective and catchy parts the band easily handles. Accelerations are very natural, just like this final stop which lets a clean sound lead us to Verdant Paths To Radiance and its introduction which will seem familiar to In Flames fans, before adopting a soaring dissonance that will last throughout the track. The jerky riffs resurface on Across The Neverwhen, accompanied by piercing vocal parts and its efficient rhythmic which will also prove to be softer while remaining catchy before accelerating again on Seekers Of The Ineffable, with a very lively tapping introduction. The rest of the track continues on this heady ambient dynamic, then the band allows us a short moment of respite at the end before letting Sidereal Spire darken the landscape with aggressive riffs coupled with melancholic tones. The inspiration of the masters from Gothenburg is still present at every moment of this striking track, just like on Temporal Anchor which manages to place airy melodies on aggressive and lively patterns. Vocals seem to be a little far on this composition which will leave its place to City Of Nine Gates and its first surge, but the track will temporize to let more rhythmic elements make us shake our head. We will notice regular accelerations before Journey’s End comes to mark the end of the album with the most soothing melodies, but also an extremely aggressive rhythmic basis, creating an important contrast before delivering us to softness.
Majesties do not hide their Swedish influences, and the band literally brings us back to the mid-90s with Vast Reaches Unclaimed, an intense album marked by piercing melodies.
90/100