Stortregn - Finitude (2023)^{Release ID: 47933}

Stortregn started off as a melodic black/death band before dumping most of their black metal elements for more of a progressive/tech-death style. Their new album Finitude sealed their sound, and even more so since their signing to The Artisan Era, a record label that has published dozens of releases of technical death metal or symphonic black metal. Lots of melodic shredding to be found in this offering!

Finitude is the 6th full-length by this Swiss band, and it has some solid high-quality detail. Many of the songs are quite excellent and have brought this extreme technical style up for its fans to be pleased.

Crashing in is the title opener, with a great amount of furious shredding and flamenco-style soloing. "A Last Battle Rages On" indeed rages on in high aggression, perhaps higher than most people would expect. Expect the unexpected! Standing out well is "Xeno Chaos" that bursts out more than a human-killing Xenomorph (unrelated). It truly is special as the progressive tech-death rises up in melody.

Flamenco elements continue to cover tracks like the blazing "Cold Void" in the acoustic outro seguing into the next track. The blistering "Rise of the Insidious" has more of that neoclassical soloing going on beyond belief.

The ominous doom in "Omega Axiom" begins to show a sign that the band is starting to slow down towards the end of the journey. I guess it is good for the band to steady themselves so they don't get tired out too much before a final impression. Well, that sign is highly true, as the stellar "De Inferno Solis" has killer blast-beats in contrast to the melodic guitars. "The Revelation" ends it all with the best shredding you can find here.

Here we have a polished melodic/progressive/tech-death album in which the band attempt to spice it up with elements from the outer music realms. It's almost like a more brutal Persefone on steroids, though a bit pompous here and there. All good as long as they know what they're doing....

Favorites: "A Last Battle Rages On", "Xeno Chaos", "Rise of the Insidious", "The Revelation"