AN NCS PREMIERE: DISHARMONY — “THE ABYSS NOIR”

 

Here we are again, watering down the absolutist proclamation in our site’s name. Hell is clearly freezing over. Is nothing sacred any more? What has happened?

Yes, we are about to premiere an Exception to our Rule — a well-earned one that can’t be denied. What has happened is that the Greek band Disharmony have overcome your humble editor’s prejudices against clean singing in metal. How have they done this? Allow me to explain.

 

 

The song you’re about to hear is the title track on the band’s forthcoming new album (their second full-length), The Abyss Noir. When I first heard it, I didn’t know about the vocals. What grabbed me right away were the warping, dissonant leads, the tumbling drums, and the transition to a burst of hard-jabbing riffs and swirling fretwork. When those clean vocals finally did made their surprising appearance, I was already moving my head to the song’s pneumatic, hammering rhythms.

But man, those vocals really are strong. It’s a classic heavy metal style, and Chris Kounelis shows impressive range as well as explosive vibrancy, sending his voice soaring and trailing fire behind it in the song’s crescendos. But everyone else in the band turns in an impressive performance, too. Guitarists J. Karousiotis and Stefanos Georgitsopoulos supercharge the music with highly addictive and dynamically changing riffs, attractive melodies, and solos that range from face-melting to slow and ethereal, while drummer Thanos Pappas and bassist Panagiotis Gatsopoulos provide a physically compulsive drive.

If we’re going to make Exceptions to our Rule (which, truth be told, we’ve always done), then a song like this one can’t be ignored. It’s just too damned good.

 

The Abyss Noir will be released on April 20 by Grimm Distribution. Here’s the track list, which includes a cover of Metallica’s “Disposable Heroes”:

01. The Abyss Noir
02. Vain Messiah
03. Delirium
04. This Caravan
05. Disposable Heroes (Metallica cover)
06. A Song For A Friend

To pre-order the album, visit this location, where you can hear another track named “Vain Messiah“:

https://grimmdistribution.bandcamp.com/album/003gd-disharmony-the-abyss-noir-2017

Disharmony on Facebook:
http://www.facebook.com/disharmony.gr