Reviews: Soreption, The Tangent, Deathwhite, Black Therapy (Reviews By Matt Cook & Matt Bladen)

Soreption – Jord (Unique Leader) [Matt Cook]

Jord is unabashedly, unbridled tech death, a complex undertaking bolstered considerably by intoxicating synergy between the guitars and a quality-over-quantity approach to symphonic elements. Soreption’s latest output under the Unique Leader banner offers active double bass pedaling and a pinch of groovy melodies, a marriage that reaps more cement with which to add to the already strongly fortified fortress that is the Swede’s fourth release. 

Each piece of work meticulously produces a tangible identity rife with modernity, vigor and mastery. Take any one song in a vacuum and it holds up confidently against any other wunderkind currently in the musical ether. Dod Jord is a museum exhibition chronicling the intense interplay between guitars, boasting complementary harmonizing that effectively contrasts with enticing homeostasis. When symphonics are thrust into the discussion, the keyboard metamorphoses into a creature that not only disorientates (Prophet), but also spooks (The Nether Realm’s Machinery). Mixed into this cornucopia of talent is a technical grasp which is unmistakable on A Story Never Told, and The Artificial North. 

It represents an adept performance that acts as a metaphorical bookend, housing the aforementioned characteristics into a single, monumental entity. If Soreption aren’t by now a household name amongst the tech death landscape, Jord is the defining record that propels the band to the apex of that elite list. The seasoned, adept capability is obvious from the start. The heady craftsmanship beckons with each listen. It’s unabashedly, unbridled Soreption. 9/10

The Tangent - Songs From The Hard Shoulder (Inside Out Records) [Matt Bladen]

Running at 65 minutes, 10 seconds and with only 5 tracks, Songs From The Hard Shoulder sees Yorkshire proggers The Tangent mark their 20th anniversary with 12th studio album. Still led by Andy Tillison the album deals with a multitude of issues, The Changes tells the story of a band out on tour but with no money for a hotel, the acerbic lyrics a metaphor for really wanting to be out experiencing things with friends and family. Written during the lockdown it's a clever way of dealing with the emptiness of the first Covid Lockdown. Delivered in fine style by the often witty and typically British lyrics that marry humour and pointancy throwing in a Beatles lyric within the Yes-isms. Tillison's keyboards and voice are the bearing heart of The Tangents music but again he surrounds himself with incredible musicians; Jonas Reingold (bass), Luke Machin (guitar/vocals), Steve Roberts (drums) and Theo Travis (sax/flute), the latter adding flourishes that make The Tangent a very distinctive prospect in the modern prog era. 

After the propulsive The Changes, finishes spinning it's yarn, we get a jazzy, fusion based instrumental in GPS Vulture, those Canterbury Scene influences writ large as Luke Machin delivers some mind boggling lead playing, his solo on The Changes is excellent also. Tillison's knack for penning lyrics can be heard on Lady Tied To A Lampost, a 20 minute song that decries homelessness, using Tillison's personal experience as inspiration for the finest piece here. It's the most emotive track on the record, keeping you hooked for its mammoth run time, all of the performances top drawer, creating a sprawling song that needs every note that's played in order to tell the story right. As we draw closer to the end of this album the short, funky Wasted Soul, kicks out the jams and closes the record well, though special editions will get the fifth song In The Dead Of Night a bonus track cover of the song by the prog rock supergroup UK. The Tangent display their mastery of long form songwriting on Songs From The Hard Shoulder, fantastic UK prog! 8/10

Deathwhite – Grey Everlasting (Season Of Mist) [Matt Bladen]

Embracing the same gothic darkness as bands such as Katatonia, Paradise Lost and Swallow The Sun, mysterious Americans Deathwhite return with Grey Everlasting, the follow up to their 2020 album Grave Image and their third full length record of darkly, melodic misery. The band members are a closely guarded secret going by just initials however, they fill their music with introspection and discontent, ringing guitar lines shifting into distorted riffs, sung with a heartbroken croon. Their downbeat mantra on life magnified by the pandemic, resulting in this album that takes aim at cruelty, dishonesty and greed. 

As the strings of intro Nihil subsides, the listener is again embraced by the brooding, downbeat music of Deathwhite, Earthtomb and White Sleep are both to the point, with some raucous blast beating, fit for Halifax’s premier pessimists. Quietly, Suddenly, meanwhile ups the doom quotient. It’s the title track where things get really mournful, an echoed guitar, sparse drum beat and a dejected vocal, builds the atmospherics into some Type Of Negative-like bleakness. Again recruiting producer/engineer Shane Mayer, engineer Art Paiz in the recording and Dan Swanö for mastering, Grey Everlasting certainly sounds as it should due to these steady hands, twiddling the knobs. 

Earlier in the review I mentioned blastbeats and these extreme metal elements are strewn across Grey Everlasting, while the orchestration has also become a focal point. These additions, or at least different focuses are integral to making Grey Everlasting sound like Deathwhite but also move them in a direction of progression. Deathwhite are a band who are enigmatic, melodic and also steeped in an aura of darkness, while they have adopted more influences, they remain true to their roots with Grey Everlasting. 7/10

Black Therapy – Onward (Black Lion Records) [Matt Cook]

Treat Onward like a pair of pristine, just-out-of-the-box shoes. Try it on with varying environments and surfaces. Take it with you on different adventures and experiences. Take it off every now and then, but consistently refer back to it. That’s the only reasonable way in which to sate your appetite with Black Therapy’s audacious effort courtesy of Black Lion Records. It’s a melodic death metal mosaic, capturing adaptable singing and one-of-a-kind musicianship. The record is embraced by catchy hooks: “Follow your heart / follow your dreams’” will take days to fully expel itself from your brain (Onward), while A Quiet Place carefully welds male and female vocals into a bulletproof structure of harmonization. 

The cadences are singularly special. Alas, there is more than enough room to include metallic ferocity on the album. Betray My Ideals shapeshifts Giuseppe Di Giorgio into a tormenting behemoth and yet the tender accumulation of an insurmountable riff hangs over and surrenders to a spoken-word drumline and melodic soloing. Blindness equally ups the metal ante and Together represents by-the-book MDM at its finest. Departing from that, though, Behind The Glass introduces a piano in the distant background which powers the harsh/clean co-existence. 

If you listen astutely to the chorus on Destroy The Fate, the vocal pattern closely resembles that of the titular track’s. And that’s precisely the point: try on this shoe at home, in the office and on the road. You won’t know if it’s truly a good fit until you give it enough time. My advice: give it enough time. It’s worth it. 8/10