Hey there tech fiends, it's that time of the week again. Before we dive into today's focus, here's the usual reminder that if you're looking for more sick music, all prior editions of this series can be perused here.
Just like last week's belated coverage of Aparia – Beyond The Walls Of Man, there's still a lot of awesome 2018 releases I've been keeping tabs on for the year that still deserve to be highlighted, even if it's past due and some have thankfully already gotten some praise as is. Newcomers The Beast of Nod certainly fit those criteria, their debut album, Vampira: Disciple of Chaos, came out of nowhere in May and organically bloomed into a release fans of the genre and sites alike latched on to passionately in a way that helped them gain tons of visibility in ways that rarely happen for a single release from a new band.
There's a number of reasons why that happened, from the eye-popping attention-grabbing cover art to the bands less than serious nature while taking the sci-fi and storytelling aspect of their music seriously, to their polished and well-developed style, and much more. Like a lot of the bands that stick out nowadays, The Beast of Nod's style is just as informed by progressive death metal as it is hyper-shredding technical death metal norms. Where they mix it up in a way that's given them wider appeal is the melodic death metal and technical melodic death metal influences found throughout Vampira: Disciple of Chaos which gives the music a catchy anchor of sorts that's easy to remember and a lot of fun.
At the same time, Vampira: Disciple of Chaos leans very heavily into an obvious to a fault Allegaeon influence both riff and lead playing wise for much of the record. I'm a huge fan of them so that's not such a bad thing, but, that often being at the core of this effort can make some of it feel too similar to them many times. However, when they venture outside of this obvious influence as every song here does, they bring enough to the table to be more than a copy of Allegaeon so this still has plenty of merit regardless. In a way, this album also reminds me of the style and approach that Alustrium takes, especially from a songwriting perspective keen on exploration and bridging the gap between many different sub-styles of tech-death, prog-death, and groove death together in interesting ways. The goofy lyrics, goofy song titles, and immersive concept album approach is also a nice touch all of which helps add to the group’s identity as a whole.
Vampira: Disciple of Chaos is quite an ambitious and eclectic album even if I don't think their sound is quite as unique as every other positive factor in their favor mentioned earlier. For being their first release though, The Beast of Nod have absolutely established themselves here as an act with something to say, and a lot of promise to build on moving forward. This is definitely the kind of band I'm excited about, and moreso for what comes next I see being even greater. But, don't let that deter you from enjoying how great Vampira: Disciple of Chaos is, because this is a fantastic release any way you dissect it. If you're new to the release and enjoy it, orders can be placed through The Beast of Nod Bandcamp Page. You can follow the group over on The Beast Of Nod Facebook page.
