I’ll be the first to admit it when it comes to listening to death metal, I find more strikes than home runs. I have always found it hard to keep my attention when I can’t even understand the lyrics to the songs and if you have read any of my reviews in the past you know that lyrical content is important to me when it comes to writing these reviews, but what if there was a band that changed my views on death metal and melodeath metal? Well, lucky for us all there is such a band and they blew my mind.
The Long Road Home from Iapetus was a journey into musical composition more than it was having my eardrums pounded for an hour, which most of the time is the outcome when I listen to such music. With a unique blend of clean guitars and acoustics, slammed with furious metal riffs and brutal vocals, this release gave me something different from the genre and that is why I was able to write this review.
With the tracks on the album ranging from 3 minutes in length to almost 16 minutes, the two-piece atmospheric progressive melodeath metal band from Long Island, N.Y., created a concept album to end all concept albums. With their technical abilities on the instrumentals on this release, they created a sound that is full and powerful, even though it is created by only two men. Which raises some concerns for me; when performing live, the band will need to add members to be able to recreate the sound that is contained in the studio release. But by adding members, will it keep the sound as full as it is through my headphones?
For me, the stand out tracks were the ones that lasted the longest because they engulfed me in sound and demanded my full attention with their changing melodies and progression. “…Of Hangmen & Vertebrae” was by far my favorite song on the release with its changing tempo and melodies, building constantly throughout, creating an amazing atmosphere that engulfs the listener in sound. I cannot applaud this duo enough for the blend of acoustic guitars in their music, it really gave the music heart, soul and warmth, something that is rare in this genre. The band showed that six years of hard work in the studio – and being meticulous in your craft – creates a great outcome.
You can follow the band on social media and access the album that is out now via Iapetus’ Bandcamp, iapetus1.bandcamp.com. I highly recommend giving this one a listen and taking this journey through sound.
