ALBUM REVIEW: Arc Of Ancients – Dismemberment

DISMEMBERMENT have a lot to prove amongst the underground death metal scene. Every extremity of heavy music has been explored by this point, so you can’t survive on brutal aggression alone. The only way to prove yourself is to bring something unique to the table, but do DISMEMBERMENT pull it off?

Kicking off with a dissonant intro, Arc Of Ancients sets out to prove a point from its opening seconds. A Path Beyond provides a fairly strong start with its crunchy guitar tone and hardcore-influenced vocal performance, but the move towards a Kerry King style solo under a minute in is an odd move. The guitar sits way too prominent in the mix, with the atonal playing seeming hesitant and perhaps even out of time at points.

Things pick up with the crushing blackened thrash opening Through Earth And Steel. The track powers on through blast beats, chugging chords and passionate lead vocal, but hits another questionable solo and fizzles out slightly by the time we reach its outro. Just from its title, Beneath Bitter Frost sounds like it could take pride of place on any MAYHEM album. Rather than chugging away at distorted chords, this track shows off a more melodic, riff based approach which suits their style better than everything we’ve heard so far.

Despite this attempt, the middle of the album does little to make up for the slightly lacklustre opening. Placing five tracks with very little variation next to each other on an album can work when done right. Take CANNIBAL CORPSE for example. They seem to have mastered formulaic songwriting; you know what you’re going to get, but you just keep on taking it. The same just can’t really be said here. The slightly grotesque charm of death metal is buried beneath disappointingly bland guitar parts and some volume balance issues.

The two longer tracks on the album are the highlights, with Now As One and Final Outcome both clocking in at over 6 minutes. This allows both tracks the space for a bit of variation. We get a few tempo changes in the former, with chanted vocals and some call and response spoken word adding a few variations that would have done well earlier on. Similarly, Final Outcome calls back to the introduction with its gentle guitar, creating a pleasing cyclicality to the album and providing a nice release from the monotony of some of what has come before. This is the standout piece and works well as a final track, but the number of listeners who will actually reach track 9 remains to be seen.

For the second album from a new band in a competitive genre, it’s not bad. There is passion and aggression within Arc Of Ancients, and the subtle cyclicality gives it a unique edge. However, the songwriting itself (and production) just doesn’t provide enough individuality to make DISMEMBERMENT stand out in their field.

Rating: 5/10

Arc Of Ancients is set for release October 18th via Creator-Destructor Records.

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