A new message of distress from Once Upon the End.
Following the arrival of Ezalyr (vocals) at its head, the squad made up of Groly (bass), Loerk (guitar, More of the Same Old Days), Koal (guitar) and Tentrom (drums, Houle) send Archive 200, their new EP.
Dying Concrete takes us right back into the band’s fury, with an aggressive but catchy sound featuring the new vocalist, who doesn’t hesitate to roar between piercing leads. A few calmer and clearer parts temporarily soothe the atmosphere, before letting it return to aggression and dissonance. The band then leads us into We Are the Dead, the next composition, where Swedish influences ignite the quietude with sampled vocals. We also have a few Prog influences, notably on bass, which contrasts with the rhythm section’s raw strength, before the guitars take over with jerky riffs on Moon Scavengers, an epic-sounding track. Melodies effortlessly carry us along while the singer adds a touch of fury and her bandmates add an energetic touch, sometimes even tinged with Thrash, which disappears on the melancholic introduction to The Old Ones, the final track, which first adopts touches of Doom before returning to the usual speed. The few placements of clean vocals give the track an intriguing edge, confirmed by the final break before saturation returns to close the EP.
Once Upon the End has adapted to its latest ordeal, and with Archive 200 offers us its new vision of Melodic Death, tinged with interesting influences. I can’t wait to see how the band evolves on stage now.
80/100