February 2022 Feature Release – The Horde Edition

So just like that we find that a new month is upon us which of course means that we’ll be nominating a brand new monthly feature release for each clan. This essentially means that we’re asking you to rate, review & discuss our chosen features for no other reason than because we enjoy the process & banter. We’re really looking forward to hearing your thoughts on our chosen releases so don’t be shy.

This month’s feature release for The Horde has been nominated by yours truly. It's 2012's sole full-length album "Throes of Absolution" from Washington-based progressive death metal outfit 7 Horns 7 Eyes. I first discovered this record back at the time of release & was thoroughly blown away by it's class & execution. I consequently contacted the band to order a t-shirt (which I wore religiously for a few years there) & they kindly sent me a copy of the their self-titled debut E.P. for free. Unfortunately I found the E.P. to be a fairly generic metalcore record but "Throes of Absolution" is another kettle of fish altogether. I look forward to hearing your thoughts on this relatively unknown but undoubtedly high quality release.

https://metal.academy/releases/13253

This is unfortunately a little lost on me.  I won't pretend to be big on my knowledge of progressive death metal (even though in this scenario I would perhaps argue there is more to Throes of Absolution than simply either of those two tags) but I find this album shares a lot of the challenges I have with the sub-genre.  I kind of know what to expect here and whilst I do not know the order of proceedings to class the record as being predictable, it does do exactly what I expect it to overall.  The combined power of the elements, whilst strong in terms of immediate impact, fail to set down any roots for me.  Whilst I absolutely get that it is supposed to shift and morph and that the synergy of parts is not destined to deliver obvious structures, it just sounds blunt in the main.  It sounds like the true bite of death metal gets sacrificed for the progressive elements.

There is no denying the power of those leads though.  Rich and melodious to the point of being a real indulgence, they are by far the most memorable and positive experience I take away from the album.  The core elements of the older sounds of the band are still obvious and whilst I don't mind this, at the same time I feel parts are isolated too much for a record that is made with a clear sense of bringing influences together.  Vocally it is derivative and it just pushes too far away from my death metal comfort zone for me to really enjoy.

3/5

I have very different feelings to Vinny on this one. Drastically different in fact. I have to say that this may be the finest example of progressive death metal that I've ever encountered. It's everything I've ever wanted the genre to be in one fully realized & incredibly cohesive package. It's utterly astounding to see how far this band have come since their debut EP. The one thing I do agree with Vinny on is that this is instrumentally much more in line with progressive metal & djent than it is with your classic death metal sound. The Dream Theater & Meshuggah influences are obvious throughout but the vocal delivery is so crushingly brutal that it never allows the listener to entirely let go of the death metal tag. This record is ridiculously complex but never feels forced or jerky. It's unapologetically progressive yet never feels meandering or artsy. There's plenty of melody & the regular incorporation of keyboards for atmospherics but it never loses it's menace & I never feel myself reaching for melodeath as a point of reference. The instrumentalists all put in wonderful performances with the guitarists putting on a scintillating display. But it's the vocals that are the highlight here for me. I just love them to death.

So why is "Throes Of Absolution" so overlooked in the scene? Well, I would guess there's a number of reasons that I can think of. Their metalcore roots haven't done them any favours whatsoever but I don't share Vinny's view that you can hear any inkling of that sound here. It's completely gone as far as I can see. These roots have led to sites like Metal Archives not even giving 7 Horns 7 Eyes an entry pass into their database which is absolutely ludicrous in my opinion & once again shows why true music fans should shun that website. Another reason 7 Horns 7 Eyes have failed to gain traction would be the incompetent & inappropriate genre tagging of sites like RYM. This is clearly not a classic death metal or melodeath record so those going into it expecting to hear those sounds may be disappointed. And the third reason that I'd suggest "Throes Of Absolution" is underrated is the fact that 7 Horns 7 Eyes are openly Christian & their lyrics are focused on Christian themes. That's a sure-fire way to piss off the elitist death metal community. Thankfully Metal Academy is free of that elitist bullshit so I'm hoping this can be the place that champions this unbelievable example of extreme progressive metal (& yes this is another example of why I think we should consider creating that genre tag in our database in my opinion).

5/5

Having approached this from a position of knowing the sum total of zero about the band and their roots, I have to confirm that there is no metalcore to be heard here. Also, despite not professing to be any kind of authority on death metal or it's subgenres, I would be loathe to ascribe a melo-death tag to it either. To me this sounds more like tech death taken to another level and given the whole progressive nine yards. Although it initially felt a bit dense to my ears, after a couple of listens it's appeal is beginning to open up to me and I think I am beginning to hear why Daniel holds it in such regard. In truth, due to my own preferences and struggles with technical death metal, I doubt this will ever achieve classic status for me but it is definitely an album I will have no problem returning to time and again. I would rather listen to a progressive metal album like this that still has some balls than the kind of drab and banal releases that former favourites like Enslaved are churning out nowadays.

The vocals are great with a gruff, pit-dweller growl, the leads are extravagant, yet controlled enough not to irritate and the songwriting does indeed show plenty of promise. It doesn't have the hooks of prime era Opeth, but the tracks do seem to develop really nicely and have more than satisfactory resolutions. They do occasionally suffer from the old tech death issue of random leads and inorganic time changes, but not enough to radically upset the flow of the album. Overall an interesting and involving death metal album that I enjoyed far more than I suspected I would.

Is this band still a going concern and if so how come they've not released an album in ten years? And how the fuck can Metal Archives claim any kind of legitimacy if they don't allow an album this good onto their site?

4/5

I would also support an extreme progressive metal genre tag being implemented as there is quite a bit of difference between this and Dream Theater-type progressive metal that may not necessarily appeal to both sets of fans.

Given the heavier, denser kind of Progressive Metal I've leaned into the past few years, this one was an instant winner for me right from the first listen. In fact, when I went to rate it on here versus RYM, I was appalled and confused as to why its overall score and opinions were so low. I suppose you could make the argument that albums like this are generally a slog and easy to dislike if they're a bit dull, which this can be, but I'm in agreement that this is some really good stuff overall. I think what strikes me the most about this album is that even though the leads can be a bit overwhelming at times, they're not afraid to take a less-is-more approach on some of their more crushing sections. Death Metal that leans towards the super technical side can cause my eyes to glaze over if it's too dense, but 7 Horns 7 Eyes aren't afraid to keep things slow and let their great melodies steal the show. 

The overall sound and style of Throes of Absolution is pretty addicting to me, as it's in a unique spot of being heavy enough to keep up with other Progressive Death Metal acts I love while not being focused on being dissonant or overly technical. While the solo'ing and melodies can be quick, most of the riffs and grooves of the albums are pretty tame tempo-wise, and the drums are more focused on laying down syncopation and fills rather than pushing double-bass rhythms or blast beats. It's immediately appealing to my ears and it's kept me coming back to this album for listen after listen since the beginning of the month. 

However I don't think I can say that Throes of Absolution goes into transcendent territory for me. There's something about the songwriting and structure that leaves me wanting more, with very few songs sounding fully finished or reaching a meaningful resolution. I'm always met with the thought of "Oh, it's over I guess" at the end of most tracks, and I'm not sure if it's a me problem or if some of these songs should have been extended a bit more, which I'll admit is normally a terrible suggestion. Dragging stuff out for the sake of dragging it out is becoming more and more of a sin in Progressive Metal, but I can't shake the feeling that most of these songs deserve better, more exciting endings even though their riffs, solos, and progressions throughout each song are top notch. I obviously love this, but there was something missing in the end. 

4/5

Is that really two Christian death metal bands featured in the same month?

7 Horns 7 Eyes brand of progressive death metal is heavily doom influenced, groovy and melodic. Perhaps it is to the album disadvantage then that I expected this to hit with a little bit more force. As I discussed in my brief review of the Revolution featured album for the month, deathcore was not my scene during my formative years, but all my friends were getting into it. I was exploring the world of Djent at the time and The Contortionist was one of the few acts that I could honestly enjoy bridging the gap for. Breakdown sections during songs like "Phumis: The Falsehood of Affliction", "A Finite Grasp of Infinite Disillusion" and "Delusions" sound as if they were borrowed right out of The Contortionist playbook. The later of those two songs contains a very elaborate guitar solo during its second half over a death doom instrumental in an attempt to appeal to the guitar elitists. 

I think it becomes the most apparent to me as the album is coming to its conclusion, from around "The Winnowing" through "Regeneration". Nothing in the death metal playbook says that it has to be blistering fast tempos 100% of the time. But here's the thing: I started losing interest as the album was just going to play it safe the rest of the way. There are no deviances from the formula displayed on the first seven tracks: no extended breakdowns, no atomic drops, no blast beats. And it infuriated me further as I went back and listened to the album again and noticed that the rest of the album felt exactly the same! "The Winnowing" plays such a tease during its bridge, then returns right back to the same paint by numbers formula as before.

But the album's closer "Regeneration" set it in stone: this is a guitar wank album. Not that there is anything wrong with guitar wank albums; they can be done incredibly well if given the proper focus. And I still do like this; I fall into a similar position as Xephyr when it comes to the kind of technical/progressive death metal we prefer. And hearing what is essentially Swallow The Sun/My Dying Bride with uncommon time signatures and quasi Djent breakdown passages is pretty damn cool. But it fails to keep me engrossed for its entire runtime. Another fine example of "great in moments, but not as a full album" I'm afraid.

7/10