Reviews: Landmvrks, Pridian, Cavern Deep, EchoSoul (Matt Bladen)

Landmvrks - The Darkest Place I’ve Ever Been (Arising Empire)

Rap metal, but like heavier than anything Limp Bizkit will have come up with, French band Landmvrks use all sorts of 'core' influences on their music, though vocally there is a hint of Linkin Park's Chester on The Great Unknown, as they present their most cinematic album to date. The scope has been pointed skywards attempting things not heard often when 'rap-metal' is concerned. 

The blistering Creature for instance puts in the time shifts of a band such as Gojira but this like every other song is sculpted by the soaring clean choruses and synth layers. This third album sees the band dealing with emotional collapse and burnout by creating a protagonist, conceptualising their own pain through a character they control, one who can experience what they experience but one the listener can latch on to as yourself, allowing you experience these emotions yourself and have a deeper connection to the music. 

The narrative nature of the record means that A Line In The Dust, which is a chest beating emo metal track, that features Mat Welsh of While She Sleeps, can be easily followed by some atmospherics on Blood Red where the French language rapping is just as effective as the cathartic chorus. They play with both languages throughout this album, as the songs shift between poignancy and potency, those heavy riffs that carry over from their previous three albums but on this fourth record, they are one part of a much larger musical scheme, witnessed on the bewitching La Valse Du Temps or the percussive breakdown filled Deep Inferno. 

By making The Darkest Place I’ve Ever Been conceptual Landmvrks are able to be a bit more exploratory with what constitutes ‘rap metal’. 7/10

Pridian - Venetian Dark (Century Media)

Pridian, not to be compared to US classic metal bods Prydain as these Estonian’s are different beast all together. On Venetian Dark, Pridian play extremely modern extreme music, forged by the djent style but now worked through groove driven Nu-Metal, electronic and countless ‘core’ acts, they have comparisons to bands such as Northlane, ERRA and Thornhill. Extreme vocals and riffs countered by the twitching electronics and gothic atmospheres. 

Bristling with energy, this is their first full length under this name, having gone under the moniker ÆØNS before that. Names change, soundscapes don’t and Pridian keep their metal as contemporary as they can on Venetian Dark. It’s seen them sign to Century Media Records and keeps that label’s finger on the pulse of the metal world, due to Pridian never sticking to one ‘genre’, the band noting that they “want to write songs, not instrument-based music alone” so if Out For Blood has an industrial crush and breakbeat then so be it, if they want breakdowns on Darker Tides, perfect, if they want DINY to be synthetic as it can be then they’ll do it. 

Venetian Dark is the sound of a band unrestrained. Now of course if you’re not on-board with this style of modern EDM-meets-metalcore-meets-nu metal then Pridian’s musical bravery won’t do too much for you, however if you’re a metal fan right on the cusp of what’s popular in metal today then Venetian Dark offers a host of goodness. 7/10

Cavern Deep - Part III - The Bodiless (Bonebag Records/Majestic Mountain Records)

If you’ve read my reviews before you know I love a bit of doom, particularly when it has keys so I really loved a track such as Putrid Sentry, the lowest of bass and organ rumbles setting the tone for some slow head banging as the guitars undulate and crank out those huge riffs, the vocals wailed and impassioned. Then there’s a keys solos followed by a guitar solo. 

Yeah this is a bit of me and I realise why Cavern Deep have been described as “Type O Negative lost in a cave” then coming “out sludgier, slower”, this Swedish crew play psychedelic doom with hints of Electric Wizard, Psychedelic Witchcult and Monster Magnet, burning brightly on an occult pyre their music is journey through the dark recesses of the universe, unspeakable horrors from beyond the stars and the grave. 

This is the third album in their concept trilogy but whether you’ve been on board since then or just joining now, Cavern Deep captivate with their epic doom sound, penultimate track Galaxies Collide hypnotically slow burning into the best on the record. The keys are the thing here, without them Cavern Deep just play sludgy doom, with them you’re whisked away into another celestial body entirely. 7/10

EchoSoul - Time Of The Dragon (No Dust Records)

Dragon versus The Devil? Count me in! Fort Wayne, Indiana’s prog metal act EchoSoul were formed in 2019 by guitarist/backing & scream vocals/lyricist/songwriter Guy Hinton, he’s joined by vocalist Rob Lundgren, bassist Randy Walton, drummers Tyler Witte and Fabio Alessandrini on this conceptual concept record that deals with the rise and fall of a dragon.

A record that is full of allegories, it’s got a lot of what makes prog/power metal great, shifting time signatures on Path Of The Righteous, thrashy riffage throughout to take things strongly into the American power/prog sound of Queensryche (Sister Suicide), Psychotic Waltz (Instruments Of Chaos) and others in that category.

Time Of The Dragon features muscular music, powerful vocals, and that heavier edge to things many US power/prog bands have, it's got a couple of great special guests too as Andy LaRoque (King Diamond) playing the solo to Hollowed Ground alongside a couple more lead guitar players who give solos to the record, much of the additional guitar coming from Artem Iefimov who mixed and mastered the record too. 

The US do Prog/power better than many, while EchoSoul perhaps won't be as recognised as say Symphony X but with Time Of The Dragon they have delivered a strong second effort. 7/10