Destiny – Synthetic Existence
Adipocere always had specific tastes within avant-garde death metal. Destinity is a fine addition to their roster. The bizarre thing is that “Synthetic Existence” sounds past its prime. I heard this album eight years ago. So now the bashing begins? Hardly. This is a solid effort evoking a comfortable nostalgia. There was a time in the mid to late 90s when death metal bands were experimenting with the success of Dimmu Borgir and the like – incorporating keyboard passages within the traditionally complex nature of death metal riffing. The results were often pleasing when the bands failed at imitation instead finding their own trademarks and identities. The riffs on “Synthetic Existence” please the ear with a brutal, eerie, and varied technique. The solos are perfect because they’re neither brilliant nor boring. They do exactly what they need to do and move on like a warrior would tend to battle after the realization there was no consoling the dying. While the keyboards tend to distract the brutality they are welcomed in the sense that the listener has breaks between the extremes. Magus or the first Absu record had keyboards in some songs as kind of a haunting drape beneath the bludgeoning heaviness. Don’t mistake that kind of incorporation with Destinity. These keyboards tend to arpeggiate rather than provide a drone – again, very typical of the mid-90s bands who explored the commercial tendencies of black metal. The one aspect of Destinity that seems to be more modern is the occasional use of clean vocals, which remind me of Satariel’s “Lady Lust Lilith”. My only complaint is that the later half of the album begins to tire my ears with ideas that don’t seem as thought out as the first half. Luckily, they land on their feet with the albums last song and title track incorporating everything found in the album superbly. I look forward to hearing where they go with this style on the next album even if it’s another trip down memory lane. – TRA
ADIPOCERE
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