ALBUM REVIEW: Requiem – All Men Unto Me

Through ALL MEN UNTO ME vocalist, composer and avant-garde visionary Rylan Gleave processes queer trauma and forgiveness through complex experimental and thunderous doom metal sounds.

Already making a name for himself as part of the contemporary classical ensemble PARAORCHESTRA and innovative black metal act ASHENSPIRE, Rylan Gleave lives and breathes boundary pushing experimentation. On Requiem, his second album leading ALL MEN UNTO ME, many of his more eclectic ideas are brought together with lush production and unorthodox songwriting.

Requiem makes a quick and impactful statement of intent on its opening track Introit, a brilliantly varied mix of sounds borrowed from artists as wide ranging as OPETH, THOU, SWANS and LINGUA IGNOTA with Gleave’s modern classical background keeping the track together. Gleave’s vocals, which combine recordings from before his transition and after several years on testosterone is a marvel to behold, bringing together the perfect technique that comes from years of classical training and the imperfect cracks and warbles from his late breaking voice for a uniquely expressive and powerful performance backed by wavering violins and stoner metal inspired half-time distorted guitars. Although far from radio-friendly, ALL MEN UNTO ME’s sound grips the listener with an unexpected mish-mash of familiar and exotic influences with plenty of interesting details to pick through for those brave or foolhardy enough. 

Although ALL MEN UNTO ME features a rotating cast of musicians alongside Gleave, Requiem refines the group’s sound to that of a full band rather than a loose collection of players. Through tracks such as Sequentia and Agnus Dei the project’s wild movements between twisted deconstructions of Anglican worship music and ferocious metal breakdowns feel natural and deliberate where a less in tune group could come across as haphazard and sloppy carrying Gleave‘s lyrics exploring religion, patriarchal power structures and the place of transmasculine people within them. While the project’s eccentric mix of genres could easily fall apart, ALL MEN UNTO ME creates an intricate tapestry of sounds which elegantly blend together rather than competing for attention.

Closing track In Paradisum acts as a dazzlingly hopeful finale which embraces all of the album’s disparate sonic inspirations in an emotionally satisfying end to an album full of exciting musical choices. With a more positive and jubilant tone than much of the rest of Requiem, this closing track folds in dramatic EXPLOSIONS IN THE SKY style post-rock guitar lines which build up alongside a luscious church organ and Gleave’s intense vocals, here enhanced by a dense throng of backing vocalists, to an explosion of repressed energy. In an album as intricate and ambitious as Requiem, ALL MEN UNTO ME could’ve felt pressured to constantly one-up themselves as the album progressed, however, showing some restraint and leaving this sudden surge for the final moments massively increases its impact.

While far from accessible, ALL MEN UNTO ME deliver one of the year’s most exciting albums full of well-informed deconstructions of religious tropes elegantly intertwined with plenty of metal ferocity. Don’t expect Requiem to be playing on Radio One any time soon but for those with an eye for dense songwriting interlaced with just as many obscure religious references as hard-hitting doom metal riffs ALL MEN UNTO ME’s sophomore album is chock full of moments to savour.

Rating: 7/10

Requiem is out now via The Lavarium.

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