Be’lakor: Coherence

Hailing from Melbourne, Australia’s burgeoning underground death metal scene, Be’lakor have returned with their 5th full length album, Coherence. Be’lakor have steadily grown their reputation as one of the better Progressive Melodeath bands, not just in Australia but internationally as well. Beginning with their debut, 2007’s The Frail Tide which got positive reviews and then onto 2009’s Stone’s Reach which brought the band a lot more attention and acclaim, through 2012’s Of Breath And Bone and 2016’s Vessels, Be'lakor continued building the bands momentum even further leading to the bands latest installment to their already impressive catalogue.

Coherence kicks off with “Locus�, a 10 minute epic that takes the listener down many sonic and emotional paths. That is then followed by “The Dispersion� a short meditative instrumental interlude before launching into the melodeath attack of “Foothold� with its infectious catchy riffing, again with several direction changes which make the song extremely engaging. The pulsating riffs through “Foothold� and Coherence in general give the whole thing a transcendent cerebral quality to it. Next is “Valence�, one of the strongest tracks on the album, opening up with a totally headbanging riff that lets you know right out of the gate that it's gonna be an epic ride. There isn't a huge diversity from track to track on Coherence, all the elements are largely repeated, heavy melodic riffs, growled vocals, gentle reflective passages interspersed through most of the songs and plenty of emotional impact to be found throughout. However all these ingredients are handled with great care and skill, with both honesty and authenticity. The instrumental “Sweep of Days� begins with an Opeth-like acoustic passage with the eerie electric guitars hovering in the distance before exploding into more Melodeath power. “Hidden Window� also has a somewhat old Opeth-like intro to then lead again into their Australian and progressive version of the Gothenburg sound. “Indelible� is another instrumental track and continues with their ethereal and haunting sounds, with beautiful acoustic lines and epic melodic power. The album is bookended by another epic track in the 12 minute “Much More Was Lost�. Another piece with all the elements mentioned above and again executed with passion, power, sincerity and beauty.

Be’lakor has the unenviable task of releasing Coherence among a plethora of groundbreaking albums in Death Metal and its many subgenres this year. Albums from bands like First Fragment, Archspire, Fractal Universe, Inferi and Ophidian I...etc. are all making waves at the top of many album of the year lists. However Be’lakor have managed to keep themselves in the conversation as well with Coherence. Any fans of Progressive Melodic Death Metal, loaded with emotion, will definitely find a lot to love here.

BE'LAKOR are:
John Richardson- Bass
Elliot Sansom- Drums
Shaun Sykes- Guitars (lead)
George Kosmas-- Guitars, Vocals
Steve Merry- Keyboards

Tracklisting:
1 Locus
2 The Dispersion
3 Foothold
4 Valence
5 Sweep of Days
6 Hidden Window
7 Indelible
8 Much More Was Lost

Added: December 4th 2021
Reviewer: Benjamin Dudai
Score:
Related Link: Band Website
Hits: 1003
Language: english

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