(Andy Synn makes some noise about the upcoming new album from Ceremony of Silence)
It’s a common refrain that certain genres – Metalcore, Deathcore, Djent (if we’re still using that word) – reached the point of oversaturation far too quickly, with the plethora of clones and copies often crowding out the more creative and/or innovative artists.
And while we can argue over the validity of this statement – like anything it’s a lot more nuanced, and a lot less black and white, than all that – I think we can all agree that you don’t hear this sort of rhetoric anywhere near as often when people talk about more overtly “underground” styles… even though it’s often just as true.
Case in point, the burgeoning “Dissodeath” genre (although, can we really still call it “burgeoning” when it began to coalesce into a distinct style over a decade ago?) has also rapidly reached the point of saturation, with the result being that – while most of the originators are still forging ahead and exploring the depths, and the limits, of their sound – it’s getting a little harder each month to really identify the stand-outs.
That’s not to say, however, that these stand-outs don’t exist, and with their new album (out tomorrow) Slovakia’s Ceremony of Silence look set to further establish themselves as one of the more notable acts in the ever-expanding disso-sphere.
Whereas most of their peers seem content – at least, at first – to follow in the footsteps of either Gorguts or Ulcerate (and, to be clear, Ceremony of Silence also walked that path on their debut) one thing which slowly sets Hálios apart is that it veers more closely to the likes of Suffering Hour and/or Wake (circa Devouring Ruin) with its subtly blackened and technically twisted approach.
There’s an eye-opening rapidity and spiky edge to the riffs which form the basis of opener “Primaeval Sacrifice”, for example, that immediately emphasises the focussed intensity of the band’s delivery, with the more atmospheric side of their sound only coming to the fore during the song’s eerie and expansive climax.
Similarly, the tangled web of writhing riffage and ringing, dissonantly-melodic arpeggios woven through early highlight “Serpent Slayer” serve to highlight the more technical approach of Hálios as a whole, to the point that those who crave music that’s both complex yet also catchy, but find much of the modern Tech Death scene a little too crisp and clean, might well find Ceremony of Silence to be what they’ve always been looking for without knowing it.
As successful as this album is, however – and there’s no question that the band are firing on all cylinders here (“Light Runs Through Light” in particular is a non-stop rollercoaster of blistering guitar work and absolutely obliterating drumming, beneath which lurk some surprisingly nimble and nuanced bass lines) – it seems, to me at least, that Ceremony of Silence now find themselves at the sort of creative crossroads that many bands only really encounter much later into their careers.
Because while there’s no question that the likes of the Wake-esque “Moon Vessel” (a personal favourite of mine due to its more melodic, yet still dissonantly dense, approach) and blackened penultimate powerhouse “Perennial Incantation” represent the absolute pinnacle of the group’s achievements – equal parts massive, morbidly heavy riffs and hypnotic, wickedly barbed, hooks which combine and contrast both dark melody and harsh dissonance in equal measure – there’s also a suggestion that, in achieving this particular apex, the band may well have gone as far as they can with their existing sound (at least in their current incarnation).
This doesn’t mean that stagnation (and the inevitable creative decline) is inevitable, however, as there are hints here and there – especially during outstanding closer “King in the Mountain”, where the group finally give free rein to both their more melodic and atmospheric inclinations (while also giving drummer Matúš S. Ďurčík more room to breathe), with the result that the song’s heaviest and most dissonant elements somehow seem to hit even harder – that Ceremony of Silence are already pushing at the boundaries of who they are, and who they could become.
So while Hálios is undoubtedly a great album in its own right, one which seems if anything to get better and better with each listen, only time will tell if the group have what it takes to fully embody the core tenet underpinning this album… “always in motion, but unchangeable“.