VALE OF PNATH - Accursed
July 2, 2019, 5 years ago
(Willowtip)
I like how Colorado's Vale Of Pnath play what we're all tempted to call tech death but is really a sort of technically advanced black metal, the band, sure, signed to tech-death powerhouse Willowtip but laying down sounds that are as cold and blackened as anything our face-painted brothers and sisters would deliver on any given day.
It's what gives songs like blistering first song proper “The Darkest Gate” or the insane “Skin Turned Soil” their charm: while the band plays like tech-death freakies, the overall sound and vibe is quite blackened. It's a nice mixture, and the band has it down pat on these five songs (plus intro and interlude), this EP a great stop-gap as Vale Of Pnath prepare to unleash their third full-length on a world that needs it a bit more than it realizes. For further proof to seal the deal, I direct you to the melodic black riffing and melodies of “Obsidian Realm”, which clash up with a rhythm section that is very aware of the respected history of the record label bankrolling this stuff as the two meet in an unsettling middle ground when the song comes to a climax and close, Vale Of Pnath absolutely on to something special here.
