ALBUM REVIEW: Pile of Priests – Pile of Priests

With a name that would make your school Religious Education teacher want to break out the holy water, Denver’s PILE OF PRIESTSs are back with their sophomore self-titled offering that builds upon their impressive debut. With the addition of progressive elements to their metal arsenal, PILE OF PRIESTS have created a conceptual death metal delight that will please fans of bands such as PESTILENCE and DEATH.

The album leads off with an eerie piano-led intro before unleashing into the thrash driven riff of The Aversion. The audible rumble of the bass harkens back to the metal albums of the late 80s/early 90s and is an explosive introduction to the record. Death Of The Paragon opens with a spoken word narrative that builds the story around which the album is based upon. It focuses on an exiled Prince that seeks to end the reign of his deranged Father. These sections are scattered within the confines of the tracks and allow the listener to gain an interesting perspective on the meaning behind the music and they remain intriguing to listen to throughout. The track features the first taste of a solo on the album and it leads into an impressive outro that showcases the stellar rhythm section at work.

The single Exile Unto Divination is arguably one of the highlights of the album with its sinister riffs and deathly growled vocals at the forefront. It’s the bridge however that shines on this track and showcases a thrilling solo and dazzling harmonies. The growls remain intelligible throughout but can sometimes suffer from a lack of variation. There is no denying though that they are forceful and urgent throughout, giving off a slight feel of Johan Hegg from AMON AMARTH about them.

There’s an instrumental break for the satisfying The Threshold that features an intriguing bending riff that sticks with you before seamlessly transitioning into Deus Delenda Est. PRIESTS‘ ability to shift between their blistering thrash riffs and radiating melodic sections are remarkable and are undeniably the band’s strongest selling point.

Thrash fans should look no further than the furious guitar work of Bloodstained Citadel. Rapid foot and fretwork dance hand in hand as the growls rage over the top. Another impressive solo features and highlights again the quality of the playing on show here. The bass stays audible throughout but never feels over imposing.

The epic closer The Restitution is home to all the elements that PILE OF PRIESTS have brought forth to us throughout the previous eight tracks and clocking in at just over eight minutes is their magnum opus. It features an appearance from SEVEN SPIRES siren Adrienne Cowan for the hauntingly sung intro, who also lends a growl or two on a few other tracks on the album that compliments the low-end growls most prominently heard on the record.

PILE OF PRIESTS have matured and grown from their previous effort and have in doing so, created an album that is as aggressive as it is melodic. They have successfully moulded together elements of death and thrash metal and made it their own. There are enough twists and turns to keep any fan of progressive death metal entertained throughout and along with its concept will give fans an excuse to come back for more listens.

Rating: 9/10

Pile of Priests is out now via Rockshots Records.

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