EP REVIEW: No End in Sight – The Fallen Prophets
THE FALLEN PROPHETS may have only released their first album, Slaughtered At The Altar, just under five years ago, but the band has surged forward in leaps and bound in this relatively short space of time. Their predominantly brutal death metal orientated sound, tinged with great, melodic hooks, has not only established them as one of South Africa’s more impressive underground acts, but has also showcased the bands talent for writing incredibly catchy, yet utterly ferocious, music at a proficient rate. Their latest release, No End In Sight, sees THE FALLEN PROPHETS lean more heavily into their melodic side, making for their most impressive and memorable record to date.
Dead But Still Alive is a powerful opening offering, coupling monolithic drums, beefy guitar hooks with a few notable slam flourishes and caustic vocals, resulting an incredibly intense, yet engrossing track, that makes great use of melody as much as it does its heavier, more rhythmic moments. Killing The Last Saviour, with its slower, darker sound and more prominent use of imaginative leads, possesses the same monstrous groove that defined the previous song, with some great chaotic sections lending a sense of urgency to certain points of this track and giving everything a more dramatic feel throughout.
The Beast has some great, dizzying guitars and intricate, precise drumming, and has a much tighter sound that shows off the bands impressively high level of musicianship extremely well. The dense, gutturals roar of the vocals adds a thick and fierce air to the music, serving to make what was already an exceptionally heavy even more aggressive. Believe, another track with a vastly reduced pace, is another brilliant example of just how atmospheric THE FALLEN PROPHETS‘ sound can be when the music has a measured, crawling tempo. There’s certainly some great, rabid parts here which help this sound more visceral, with a few black metal elements peppered in amongst the overall brutality, and as a result this song has lots of twists and turns musically that makes this track incredibly immersive.
No End In Sight has an epic, gargantuan sound built around huge chords, thunderous percussion and grating leads, but more often than not opts for crushing, rhythmic chugs, with a few riffs spread generously across this track. Where some of the earlier offerings were definitely hindered by their more acerbic and speed-driven moments at times, the slower pace allows all this song’s best moments to come to the fore, elevating this song significantly. Deception, with its slightly more pronounced black metal influences, is a great track with some fantastic, acerbic vocals and slick, eclectic guitar work being the main focus of this song’s appeal. There’s a brief, but well done, breakdown that helps rather than hinders the song, separating the two halves of the song, a trope that is often utilised but rarely used well, as it is here. It’s a great track that departs somewhat from the established formula of preceding tracks, and providing a great end to the record.
There may only be a gap of nine and a half months between this EP and THE FALLEN PROPHETS‘ most recently released album, 2020’s Relentless Killing Motivation, but the difference between these two records seems quite stark. The tighter, more adventurous sound and atmospheric flourishes lend a more engrossing and technical polish than its predecessor, with the band trimming away what little fat there was on the formers sound. The numerous guest appearances add a lot to the records sound, with each contribution adding a distinct flavour to proceedings that a lot of guest spots tend to lack. By far and away, No End In Sight is a massive step up on all fronts for THE FALLEN PROPHETS, raising them to a new level musically and giving listeners some of the band’s best work to date.
Rating: 8/10
No End In Sight is out now via MMD Records.
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