Mixing power & progressive metal with lots of groove, thrashy aggression and the occasional extreme metal element is not something new; plenty have bands have successfully combined these elements over the years (Pain of Salvation, Faith No More, Mercenary, Pantera, Nevermore, and Scar Symmetry instantly come to mind). German act Beissert are also looking to get in on the fun with their latest release for Agonia Records Darkness: Devil: Death, and while this release is by no means an out and out classic, for fans of metal with a wide variety of elements thrown into the mix, a good time can be had with some of these songs. The guitar work is thick and crunchy, and if you like screaming pinch harmonics you've come to the right place. Plenty of thump and groove to the rhythms, and the vocals are a mix of soaring clean, gruff thrash, hardcore styled bellows, and the occasional death growl. While there are a few kick ass numbers here, like "Thy Chthonic Cathedral", "Perm Trias", "I Am the Lore", and the title track, I'm finding much of Darkness: Devil: Death to be a tad unfocused, and, well, unmemorable. The press info lists the presence of doom & sludge in their sound, but I'm not hearing that at all, and quite frankly would have welcomed it. "DXXXV" introduces some blast beats, tremelo picked riffing and black metal screeching into the mix which just comes out of nowhere in a song that is otherwise all about hardcore riffs and shouting. So yes, this CD is basically all over the place, and at times not in a good way, but there are some moments that are quite enjoyable, so proceed with caution should you like your metal with focus but dig right in should you steer towards the more chaotic.
Track Listing
01. Thy Chthonic Cathedral
02. DarknessDevilDeath
03. Age ov Darkness
04. Zorn Der Geister
05. My Path Shall Be Your Wrath
06. Perm Trias
07. I Am the Lore
08. Do What Thou Wilt
09. DXXXV
10. De Profundis Clamavi
11. Die Diamantenen Tore Der Hoelle (Polaris)
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