If you’ve caught the first two advance tracks from Decipher‘s new record Arcane Paths To Resurrection then you already know this about the band’s talents: Their riffing is gale-blown and flame-throwing, but also slashing and cruel, and the hooks within them are potent. Their rhythm section thunders but also rocks. The vocals are both deliriously hellish and grim in their chants. And the melodies channel a range of dire and desperate emotions with formidable power.
If you’ve heard those songs you’ve also learned that this Greek black metal band are dynamic songwriters, capable of erupting in violent frenzies but also scaling their music to heights of anguished splendor.
And if you haven’t heard those first two songs, you really ought to (we have them for you below), but we also invite you to listen to a new third song that we’re presenting today, “Enslaved To Be“.
This song is further proof that Decipher know how to concoct riffs that set the hook fast and hard, even if the mood they create is daunting and disturbing — and the way “Enslaved To Be” begins is certainly all of that. The guitars feverishly writhe, creating feelings of confusion and agony, and they flare and ring, catching attention just as quickly that way, while the drumming hurtles and stalks and the vocals range from vicious snarls to extravagant cries.
It’s an ear-worm of a song to be sure, even though filled with sensations of peril, degradation, and hopelessness. The lead guitar refrain that takes over the song in the closing two minutes is a great example of this quality: It seizes attention quickly and burrows deeper as it cycles along, but its mood is sheer heartbreak, and it seems to cry out in pain at the song’s finale. Just because the song ends, it doesn’t let go.
So here’s one more conclusion that you might reach after listening to all three songs: Decipher can get your adrenaline flowing in a flood, but it’s the visceral power of their moving melodies that makes these songs stand out the most.
Arcane Paths To Resurrection follows up Decipher‘s June 2019 EP Of Fire and Brimstone. It will be released by Transcending Obscurity Records (who have once again found another gem). The release date hasn’t yet been announced and pre-orders aren’t available yet, but you’ll learn about all that if you keep an eye on the locations linked below.
Credit for the fantastic cover art goes to Artem Grigoryev. And don’t forget to check out those first two advance tracks, from the new record, “Chants of the Unholy” and “Lost In Obscurity“.
TRANSCENDING OBSCURITY:
Bandcamp – http://transcendingobscurity.bandcamp.com
US Store – https://transcendingobscurity.aisamerch.com/
Europe Store – http://transcendingobscurity.8merch.com
DECIPHER:
https://www.facebook.com/decipherbandgr/