Rannoch - Reflections Upon Darkness (2020)^{Release ID: 21967}

With me, it can be extremely difficult to hit that fine line between technical wankery found in death metal, and the elongated song structures that do not coalesce very well in progressive metal. Of course there are always outliers: Opeth obviously, but more recently the band An Abstract Illusion and their 2016 debut record Illuminate the Path.

Now it’s up to Rannoch, the U.K. based ensemble to try and pick up the weight. And man do they deliver. Reflections Upon Darkness is a great find in the underground of progressive death metal and does a very good job splitting the difference between those two spectrums outlined earlier, while still doing enough to keep them original.

First of all, the production on this record is really top notch. The bass lines are very well enhanced in the overall mix, even when the guitars are down-tuned near their absolute lowest. The percussion work is excellent; it does have its fill moments, but the overall notion as a timekeeper does not allow it to become overwhelming. The vocals start off very heavy, but the album feels like it becomes more melodic later on, showing that the group can invent melodic hooks and phrases with harsh vocals is essential.

Composition wise, the album again starts off really heavy and should please any progressive death metal fan. The band's overall timbre does remind me a lot of An Abstract Illusion. But songs like “The Hanged Man” and “The Dream” have extended djent breakdowns, and while the former is very well implemented, the latter is a little bit too pronounced and doesn’t evolve very much over the tracks duration. Then the album slows down into something more death/doom like and it shows much of this band's versatility.

I really enjoyed this new record from Rannoch. The band shows an incredible knack for creating hard hitting death metal tracks that are also melodically memorable. While I personally do not care for the djent influence, it doesn’t hinder the album too much. And further beyond that, the band show off a wide range of versatility in the different genres of metal explored on this album. Toss on to that some excellent production and this is one of 2020s underappreciated gems.