MEPHISTO LETTONICA

I have to admit... The two tracks I had at my disposal digitally beforehand ("Teufelswerk" and "Sinesthetic") gave me a... we'll say interesting foretaste for this band. Some progressive tendencies; some interesting use of keyboards, for instance, sure; and talented guitar work, most assuredly of all. But honestly, it just sounds like their lead vocalist has a terrible head cold haha. Like, blow your nose, take some Robitussin and get back to me. Needless to say, if you're looking at my rating (and my boldings and super-italic-boldings), this album had all the desired affects of a great Progressive Metal album. And therefore, I was quite pleasantly surprised.

This first track, "Solar", would have been a far better introduction on its own, in my opinion, compared to the two aforementioned tracks. Again, great use of keyboards within this specific side and really on the whole of Extreme Metal. And all the guitar is really good, really tasteful, mixing intensity with melody. Again, the vocals are by far my least favorite element to all of this, but I'm sure many people will be undeterred by this. In its final moments, "Solar" is stripped away to clean guitars and glassy keyboards.

"The Spider's Kiss" is as intense as its name. The keyboards frequently mimic church pipe organ, which, of course, is quite fitting for this kind of music. Great main riff. As stated, the guitar is really my favorite element here. The rhythm shifts and we get a better glimpse at the abilities of the bassist. "Whatever that Tempts" is next, and it is ominous with its use of keys. The main riff and full instrumentation comes in then with the verse. Great guitar solo on this one. Definitely the most interesting composition thus far for me.

Moving right along, we have the boisterous "Feral Garden". This has a special sort of intensity and then... it feels like I spoke too soon, as this has a lot going on. Very fun and very interesting. Sort of all over the place in tone and with a dynamic intensity. With this one, now I get it. We get more melodic bass over more ominous key padding on "Presentiment". Near the middle, the beat picks up a hair, now in a hurried feel. In a more intense vibe, "The Human Abstract" starts off with a really cool, groovy quirk. My first thought was that this title must have been the inspiration for the band of the same name. Electric keys fill the spaces left by the start-stop syncopation of the guitar. About midway, they mix clean and dirty very nicely. The clean gives way to a whole other section with faux-horns on an even cooler feel. [I admit now, it's a bit hard to describe with greatly confident detail what's actually going on here.] Great, great song.

"Creaturesque" is next. More sort of neo-classical things going on here amidst the absolute brutality of their particular brand of Progressive Extreme Extreme Progressive Metal. About two minutes in, there's a sort of industrial bit, with electronic drums and light synths. As it approaches the middle, a really excellent, seemingly dual guitar solo begins over a wild rhythm. Then we have the not-at-all-problematically named "Once Carcass is Cold" haha. Pretty great riffage herein. After each verse, all falls away to this bizarre quiet. And finally, we have "Outro". I feel, as I did on another track (I'm honestly not sure which now), I hear sonic choices that remind me of bands like Scale The Summit to come, though likely ultimately these are callbacks/homages to Thrash. Great riffs herein. Great album closer.

True Rate: 4.5/5.0