From the tiny European country of Andorra comes Persefone and their fourth album Spiritual Migration. Never heard of the band or country before? Don't worry, I'm sure you are not alone, but after grabbing a listen to Spiritual Migration both names will certainly be stuck in your brain. The band label themselves as 'progressive death metal', and to an extent that's a pretty good description, as their music contains plenty of lethal death metal growls and a wealth of pummeling guitar riffs and complex, often times symphonic passages. The keyboard work here of Miguel Espinosa is simply gorgeous at times, giving the band a sound that is not unlike Dimmu Borgir or Epica at their most symphonic, and the twin guitars courtesy of Carlos Lozano & Jordi Gorgues provide no shortage of crushing riffs and weaving, intricate passages and solos. Marc Martins delivers a wide range of demonic growls, hellish screams, and hardcore styled bellows, in addition to plenty of fine melodic vocals as well. Check out "The Great Reality" where he combines them all in one song to perfection.
Overall the feel here is like a mix of Children of Bodom, Dream Theater, Dimmu Borgir, Dark Tranquility, Symphony X, and Borknagar, if that makes any sense at all, but Persefone seem to be trying really hard to perfect their own sound, which of course is a good thing. A problem they might have is that Spiritual Migration could be too 'progressive' for your standard death metal fan, and too 'extreme' for the typical prog lover, but folks who straddle that fine line somewhere in between will no doubt love these guys. Instrumentally speaking, there's some brilliant stuff here ("The Majestic of Gaia", "Consciousness (pt.2): A Path to Enlightenment", and the title track all feature some 'off the chart' arrangements that are as complex & symphonic as anything going today), and the mix of clean & extreme vocals are so well done. The band currently sits on Kolony Records, and it's in their best interest to push this band to the moon to the best of their ability or let them go to a larger label so their music can really be reached to a much larger audience. Recommended!
Track Listing
1. Flying Sea Dragons
2. Mind as Universe
3. The Great Reality
4. Zazen Meditation
5. The Majestic of Gaia
6. Consciousness (pt.1): Sitting in Silence
7. Consciousness (pt.2): A Path to Enlightenment
8. Inner Fullness
9. Metta Meditation
10. Upward Explosion
11. Spiritual Migration
12. Returning To the Source
13. Outro
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