genres: atmospheric death metal + black metal
While overall it’s been a phenomenal year for heavy music, there haven’t been any true standouts in the most extreme genre corners. Sure, deathcore stepped up in a big way with Whitechapel and Lorna Shore elevating that subgenre to new heights, but there’s been little in the vein of anything more experimental, like the dissonant beauty we were treated to last year by Ulcerate and Wake. Vertebra Atlantis are here to change that, just in time for year end lists. Those who frequent the depths of extreme music may be familiar with some of the other projects bandleader G.G. has been involved with, namely The Clearing Path and Cosmic Putrefacation.
In many ways, Vertebra Atlantis splits the difference between those two bands. The bright and strangely euphoric dissonance of The Clearing Path blends surprisingly smoothly into the death metal riffing and ripping solos showcased on Cosmic Putrefacation. It’s even better than either of those projects, and a good deal more accessible as well. The consuming-fire-as-transcendence disharmony and sheer brutality of those two former projects respectively is replaced by a much greater focus on atmosphere and ambiance. It’s still plenty heavy, but almost soothing in a strange, almost trancelike way. G.G.’s lyrics work even better in this form (if you can understand them), the poetic philosophical musings fitting into the contemplative heaviness quite nicely. If you’ve been itching for the next great experimental extreme metal release–you might find it here.
Listen Here
www-reviews 