AN NCS PREMIERE: DEAD SEASON — THREE SONGS FROM “PROPHECIES”

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Apr 292017

I suppose you could sum up the sound of Dead Season’s new album, Prophecies, as melodic death metal with abundant prog metal flourishes and a mix of harsh growls and soaring clean vocals with a power-metal vibrato. I prefer to think of the last scene in Thelma and Louise, when Louise punches the accelerator on that ’66 Thunderbird and they go rocketing off the cliff in a cloud of dust… but only if you could then imagine the car turning some acrobatic somersaults above that vast canyon and then zooming off into the clouds.

Along with some European sites, we’re helping to premiere three tracks from Prophecies today, three tracks out of the 12 that make up this hour-long album. And we’re also throwing in a video for a fourth track that debuted yesterday. All four of them make for a hell of an exhilarating ride.

Dead Season are in constant motion during these songs, moving rapidly but fluidly among changing moods and power levels. One aspect of the music that’s impossible to ignore is the staggering and highly infectious impact of the grooves — and it’s impossible to ignore because the music is produced in a way that enables the listener to feel the big booming stomps, jackhammering jabs, and tank-like rumbles right down to the base of the spine. If you’re like me, you’ll find the effect electrifying.

But these immense rhythms are only part of what’s going on. The songs are also laced with an array of scintillating lead guitar performances, lighting up the music with swirling, shimmering, darting colors, and with soloing that’s alternately sinuous and fret-burning. Thanks to that powerful, clean production and a fine balance in the mix, you can appreciate that the bubbling bass and the flurries of the impressively athletic drum work are a match for the agility of the lead guitar — that is, when the rhythm section isn’t punching big holes in your skeletal integrity.

The grinding and swarming riffs, along with the caustic snarls and voracious growls, help give the music a dark and sometimes sinister air. But on the other hand, the clean vocalist (who has impressive range) gives the music contrasting moods, especially when he really rockets his voice skyward, lifting the music to even greater heights of over-the-top exuberance.

The members of Dead Season have honed their chops in a variety of other projects, including Deathcode Society, Hectic Patterns, and Further Dimension, and claim inspiration from such diverse sources as Nevermore, Martyr, Shining, and Carcass. Prophecies is their second album. It was mixed at Orgone Studio by Jaime Gomez Allerano (Ghost, Paradise Lost, Primordial…). The album is set for release on May 5th. To pre-order, go here: