Methedras renews itself.
Founded in Italy in 1996, the band led by Andrea Bochi (bass), accompanied by Daniele Colombo (guitar), Edoardo Sala (drums, Folkstone, The Moor…) and Giuseppe Caruso (vocals, Ira) released their sixth album, Human Deception, in 2023.
First track Know It All immediately displays a solid metallic groove over which leads and vocal parts take turns to maintain the energetic approach. A few backing vocals also join the vocalist on the catchy choruses, which are infused with modern touches, before Envy Society lay down some heady, heavy, jerky riffs while drawing on Old School roots infused with Hardcore. The track remains effective when sharp harmonics come into play, as on Injected Thoughts where the rhythm is clearly more lively, perfectly fitting the quartet’s dynamic style. Another Fall offers a much darker and more modern atmosphere which perfectly embodies the chaos in which the band crafts its riffs, while integrating a few clear vocal parts, then Enraged brings its ominous samples to a driving rhythm. A few more dissonant passages darken the progression, before the band returns to their jerky, unifying riffs on A New Deal, which offers one of their most effective crowd-building introductions ever. The track shortly slows down after the middle, but picks up again before Chernobyl takes over, pouring out its solid riffs in the company of marching samples. The instrumental becomes strangely more playful on Psychotic, the next track, which places catchy heavy influences in contrast to the heavier parts, as well as the occasional cybernetic addition, and the band continues to nurture its new roots with The Abyss, which remains rooted in this aggressive, driving mix of energetic riffs. The album comes to a close with Layers of Grief, which takes the time to veil certain parts in a heady melancholy before letting orchestrations support the livelier elements before a solo that rushes us towards its final moments.
Recent lineup changes have enabled Methedras to evolve while retaining their energetic roots between Thrash Metal, Metalcore and Melodic Death. Human Deception remains effective at all times, and is just waiting to be defended on stage.
75/100