2011 was a fantastic year for metal and upon writing my year
end list I found myself thinking that 2012 has some really big shoes to fill.
However this year has already dropped some mammoth sized albums on us and is
proving itself to be just as good as last year.
Vying for my top 15 list this year is Montreal based Tech
Death band Derelict’s latest album Perpetuation, and by vying I mean
slaying it’s competition so far. This is the first album I’ve listened to this
year that I immediately felt would make my top albums list. The year is early,
but I have a good feeling about this one.
Anyhow let’s get on with the album.
I briefly reviewed their
previous album Unspoken Words which
was a fantastic piece of work. Perpetuation
builds and improves on that album; stepping everything up from both a
writing and technicality standpoint. I
loved Unspoken Words but this album
has a better sense of flow and is definitely more technically proficient. It’s
a well articulated barrage of sound that you can’t help but bang your head, play
air guitar or pretend to drum to. I find
myself unable to stop attempting the double bass patterns while listening.
I’ve mentioned it before, but the vocals, done by Eric
Burnet, remind me a bit of Trevor Strnad from The Black Dahlia Murder; mostly
in terms of the higher vocal nature of this album. It’s not exactly the same,
but it’s got similar stylings. It’s vicious and grabs you attention all
throughout.
The drums are top notch. Jordan Perry absolutely slays on
the set, does a great job alternating rhythms and as I mentioned earlier has
some tasty double bass patterns. The drums are also fantastically produced,
they don’t overpower anything, yet they remain clearly audible. It's a great example of how to be a great backbone for an album while also showing off your chops.
The guitars are very well done too. Max Lussier takes care of both Rhythm and
Leads on this album and does a great job of it. Derelict has a certain tone to
their guitars that makes them sound a tad bit different from other bands, I’m
not a guitar tech or anything so I can’t pinpoint what it is, but give it a
listen and you’ll find they have a pretty unique tone. I’m not opposed to
Djenty stuff, but it’s nice to hear something more original now and again. Max
also provides awesome guitar solos throughout this album which really help both
tie the album together and keep things interesting. There’s also a guest solo
from Chris Donaldson of Cryptopsy, who also mixed and mastered this album.
On an interesting note Sébastian Pittet from the already well-established band
Augury did all the bass work on this album. He provides some fantastic lines
and has a few highlights throughout the album, the most notable being Digital
Birthright which starts out with a bit of a bass solo. It’s a really neat
addition to the album.
Overall this is a fantastic addition to the albums we’ve already
seen this year and I feel that it’ll definitely have a great shot at being on a
few top album lists (mine in particular). Derelict has shared the stage with some major
bands such as Whitechapel, Fleshgod Apocalypse, and Decapitated, so their name
is getting more and more well known, and for good reason. I wish these guy the
best in the future!
The album is set to release April 20th, so go pre-order if you haven’t! It’ll be well worth your $10 or $20 (if you want a shirt too)! Also go like them on facebook and leave them a shout!
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