Tasmanian technical death metal act Mesphistopheles find themselves on Willowtip for their sophomore release Sounds of the End, and ex-Psycroptic venom spouter Matthew Chalk is now officially on board, along with former Spawn of Possession guitarists Ben Lawless, drummer Sam Dowson, and new bassist James Excell. This is pretty complex, demanding stuff, as the band have combined influences such as Cynic, Mayhem, Mahavishnu Orchestra, Mr Bungle, Morbid Angel, Athiest, Emperor, Arcturus, Deeds of Flesh, Opeth, and Ulver into a large soup pot and out comes their very tasty concoction Sounds of the End. Having the always versatile Chalk involved certainly brings a lot to the table, as the vocalist has a huge arsenal of growls, screams, rasps, bellows, and grunts in his bag of tricks. Check out the evil growls, lethal screams, and even powerful clean vocals on the rampaging "Soldiers of the Endtime", or his inhuman bellows on the kick ass "Pariahs of the Universe". Lawless, who was a live guitarist with Spawn of Possession for a few years, obviously needed some serious chops for that gig, and he's brought all that experience to this album and then some, spewing out an endless supply of technical wizardry and massive riffs, with Excell keeping up with him every step of the way and Dowson bashing underneath it all. "Silver Doors", "Battle of the Sea of Sky", "Those Whose Skin Was Gold", and "The Great Orbs Beyond Our Skies" contain some absolutely face melting, super technical arrangements that will amaze any fan of tech-death, and "The Siren of Eternity" is a highly progressive affair with many jazzy guitar & bass passages. Jaw dropping stuff.
Hard to really fault anything here on Sounds of the End, a challenging, brutal, and incredibly complex affair that shows a band with supreme chops and an ability to craft songs that perfectly match the brutality with the technicality. Highly recommended!
Track Listing
1. Pariahs of the Universe
2. Silver Doors
3. Soldiers of the Endtime
4. The End of All Light
5. Battle of the Sea and Sky
6. Those Whose Skin Was Gold
7. The Great Orbs Beyond Our Skies
8. Generation O
9. A Dolmen Maker's Lament
10. The Siren of Eternity
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