EP REVIEW: Lingua Ignota: Part I – Persefone

A band’s change in vocalist is often a contentious one. As the focal mouthpiece, your self-forged identity can transform which, given the metal community’s ironically non-rock-’n’-roll attitudes to change, could be a death sentence. Keen to cement their mettle in the 2020s, and following up 2022’s esteemed metanoia, prog-metal’s favourite Greek goddess PERSEFONE returns with Lingua Ignota: Part I. Fittingly titled in allusion to the band’s new ‘unknown voice’, Daniel Rodríguez Flys, it cannot be questioned that the band have seen serious evolution in two years. Whether they remain a formidable predator or resign themselves to be preyed upon, however, is up for debate.

To address the rather large, rather shouty elephant in the room – yes, the line-up change has made a noticeable difference to the band’s sound but no, this is not necessarily a bad thing. Besides, across two decades of music, PERSEFONE aren’t exactly strangers to evolution and this has always been received with consistent acclaim. However, what does the band look like after breaking six albums worth of identity? Flys is a talented, capable successor to the legacy of Marc Martins Pia, someone who provides a familiar balance of ethereal cleans and ballistic growls that bend and warp in volatile fashion. It must be noted that certain timbres fly a little close to the modern era of GOJIRA’s Joe Duplantier but it integrates with the band’s style in a refreshing way as opposed to sounding cheap and reductive. 

Overall the EP does a wonderful job of stretching the Andorrans to their limits, a five-track showcase of assurance to any fans calling the band’s future into question. In the past, especially on the likes of metanoia, PERSEFONE were often an erratic beast, leaping from a gentle touch to bludgeoning ferocity with little notice. This unpredictability hasn’t been lost but Lingua Ignota: Part I equally has no shame in offering a more melodic touch to its vocabulary. The project’s biggest tracks, One Word, Lingua Ignota and The Equable, each display triumphant moments of harmony and grace, punctuating the violence with newfound balance. Some may see this as the band diluting their sense of aggression but, if anything, it serves the band well to know when to strike and when to refrain, giving the EP’s instances of hate the presence they deserve. 

Songwriting, perhaps the other main facet of PERSEFONE’s arsenal, also remains potent. The band fidgets from A to B, executing their suite of prowess on sprawling canvases that take great pleasure in astonishing the senses with the same ambition for greatness we’ve come to expect. This unfortunately does peter slightly in the case of the EP’s bookends with Sounds And Vessels strangely standing as its own entity despite being a worthwhile introduction of One Word, while Abyssal Communication feels like a slight non-starter in the absence of what will likely be the entrance to Lingua Ignota: Part 2. 

At its best, Lingua Ignota: Part I is an exciting glimpse into the future of a fascinating band at the very pinnacle of their craft. While some may be too entrenched in their loyalties to the band’s past, the rest of us can look to the horizon with privilege in awe of these rather wonderful craftsmen and their work. 

Rating: 8/10

Lingua Ignota: Part I is set for release on February 2nd via Napalm Records.

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