Phlegethon Animae
Chaos From Abyss Within
6.7
Summary:
Exhibitionist, progressive, melodic metal that is hampered by thin production and over reliance on bargain basement keyboards.
Review:
Chaos From Abyss Within is the first in a string of three demos I'll be reviewing, so please bear with me. This is very run of the mill Prog-Metal, but with better songwriting. The riffing is drawn from the Children of Bodom/Skyfire school of blackened power thrash, but not nearly as clever. The vocals are delivered with a sort of desperate, breathless rasp, matching the brittle guitar tone in terms of lack of heft. The bass is mixed unevenly, at times accentuating the guitar melodies, at others dropping out completely. The keyboards are very present. Surprisingly, this is appreciated, as it is the instrument marking the thematic shifts and pushing each of these songs forward. Unfortunately, these keys mostly sound like they were bought at Toys 'R Us.
As songwriters, Phlegethon Animae band doesn't leave all that much to complain about. The transitions are tight and well emphasized, and none of the songs overstay their welcome. This is a very hard style to pull off with any sort of conviction. But, aside from the production gripes, PA do it well.. The leads can get obnoxious, but they're more tasteful than most and the players are phenomenal. What really needs to be worked on here is the riffing. It's clear that guitarist(s) for PA have spent most of their time running through the scales, and not really developing the kind of chops needed to write the meaty, driving riffs that make the parts between the solos compelling. What I hear are a lot of incomplete, place holder riffs.
This band's ambition could actually make for some albums with actual substance. The production is anemic, the riffing is unspectacular and the keyboards ... well, they sound like keyboards. But, there are ideas here and talent. Hopefully this demo will earn the band the kind of deal that will allow them to create something slightly more developed.
