DESTRAGE

— First review of this album —

Destrage are a little known 5-piece metal band based in Milan, Italy. While their music was initially considered metalcore, the group's technical proficiency and compositional chops have earned them a reputation as a formidable modern progressive metal outfit.

The music on their latest record, 2019's The Chosen One, is best described as the neglected love child of Protest the Hero and Meshuggah. The music is energetic and frantic but is also anchored by down-tuned and groove-heavy riffs. Being the neglected love child however means the band has also developed apart from its roots, most noticeably by adding a great deal of beauty to the chords employed in the more melodic passages.

Front man Paolo Colavolpe is an absolute maniac. The breakdown at the end of 'Hey Stranger!' is the best breakdown I've heard since the mid 2000's. This is just a fantastic record. I hope it will eventually gain more traction with fans of extreme progressive metal.