Review Summary: Slice The Cake's The Odyssey is likely the most unique and thought provoking Deathcore album will you hear for some time.
The highly anticipated, and much delayed, third full length from international Progressive Deathcore collective Slice the Cake is finally approaching release, surviving trials and struggles comparable to the journey of its own exiled pilgrim. The trio’s previous two releases, The Man with No Face and Other Slices cemented Slice the Cake as a band travelling lands in which most other Deathcore bands fear to enter. Their combination of esoteric philosophy with razor-sharp metal riffing has created some of the most enjoyable and creative Deathcore in recent memory. This, however, does not seem to have been enough for the Pan-Global band, as this latest release takes the classic Cake sound and pushes it further than ever before. The new multipart release, known collectively as The Odyssey, takes the form of an epic tale (in every sense of the word.) The music chronicling the journey of an unnamed protagonist as he leaves all he loves to find the Holy Mountain and his spiritual fulfilment, meeting danger and existential angst along the way.
The listener joins The Pilgrim for the first time with the ambient companion album, Odyssey to the Gallows, which vocalist Gareth claims should be listened to before the main event of Odyssey to the West. Initially, it may be difficult to see why, with half an hour of dark soundscapes, emotive spoken word and Gareth’s guttural roars of pain …Gallows is not an easy listen. However, after several full listens the logic becomes clear. The fluid synth-scape brings to mind the repeating heavy rush of an abyssal ocean, a biting wind and the dark expanse of the abyss, rising to a peak and returning to the depths over the course of the album's playtime. These timbres, coupled with the impassioned, poetic vocal delivery, set the mood of the bleak epic tale that is about to be undertaken on Odyssey to the West. It will not be for everybody and is a part of the experience will likely be skipped over in subsequent listens, especially due to its length. However, when considered as part of the greater whole of the pilgrimage it acts as an ideal way to mentally prepare the listener for the approaching journey.
With the mood well and truly set, it is time to dive headfirst into Odyssey to the West. As with previous releases, Slice the Cake bring forth some the best executed riffing in Deathcore. courtesy of axeman Jonas Johansson, with the opening riff to The Exile Part I – The Razors Edge being in the running for best opening marching elephant riff of any metal album ever. While it is safe to say that the band do not stray too far from their Deathcore and Death Metal heritage musically (save for the odd acoustic and folk instrument interlude), the quality of the songwriting is part of what sets Odyssey to the West apart from its competition. While the album clocks in at well over an hour it never feels dragged out or lacking in creativity and the musical ideas on show here remain dynamic and engaging throughout. This album showcases Slice the Cake at their most grandiose and sweeping yet also at their bleakest, with melodies and riffs befitting of the albums lofty concept. Such songwriting talent is perhaps cemented by Castle in the Sky Part II - Pieces of Ruins a sequel to a track found on Other Slices. This track comes as close to a power ballad as a Deathcore band will likely get and Slice the Cake pull it off confidently, and the result is highly enjoyable.
Part of what makes Slice the Cake’s approach to songwriting so unique, aside from main songwriter Jack Magero’s talent in the field, is the lyrical and vocal approach taken by vocalist and lyricist Gareth Mason. Gareth’s approach to lyrics is befitting of the magnitude of the albums sound and scope. Across both Odyssey to the Gallows and Odyssey to the West, the lyrics read more like a Shakespearian monologue by a lost wanderer than your standard Deathcore affair. Nowhere to be found are the cringe-worthy statements of overt masculinity or bravado, but instead a philosophical deconstruction of a difficult spiritual journey, written with all the pomp and poetry of Hamlet.
It would have been a shame to have the vocal delivery lack the grandeur and theatrical nature of the lyrics themselves, luckily Gareth has expanded his range several times over since Other Slices. Added to his guttural screams are high pitched, Gobin-like vocals reminiscent of Travis Ryan of Californian Death Metallers Cattle Decapitation. As well as the arsenal of harsh vocals, Gareth also demonstrates vastly improved clean melodic vocals that are used heavily throughout the album to great effect. Though sadly, at least in the review copy I was provided, some of these cleaner vocals become lost in the mix, though this is said to be being fixed for the final release. Most importantly though is the inclusion of Gareth’s spoken word range, from quiet pondering to cracked and pained shouts, it is used to great impact to highlight the melodrama of the lyrics themselves.
The lyrical stylings, while being one of The Odyssey’s defining features, are also the most divisive element. It is very easy to see the lyrical themes as incredibly pretentious, especially when combined with the experimental Odyssey to the Gallows. The lyrical meta-narrative of spiritual development is something more likely found in Post-Black Metal, and is far from the easy listening and often brain-dead standards of the Deathcore genre. Though, strangely enough, such comments of over-handed pretence seems to be something the band has predicted. As The Pilgrim’s journey breaks down and the protagonist refutes his need to find the Holy Mountain, he slowly fades away and a new character, The Author, comes forth, deriding his own grandiosity and inability to reconcile such expressions of melodramatic pain with his own worldview. The Author is lost within ‘the murk of [his] own poetry’ and that this whole process of the ‘Holy Tale exploded on to canvas’ was ‘for healing but what [he] found, is not the same.’ It is arguable that this does nothing to remove the pomposity of the whole exercise, but for some, this self-awareness may be enough to tip the balance. For the rest of us, such honest and open critique of the artist and their view of themselves is incredibly evocative and refreshing, so much so that a glance through the lyrics sheets are not only a bonus but should be encouraged.
The Odyssey is likely the most unique and thought-provoking Deathcore album will you hear for some time. Slice the Cake have perfectly captured the bleak vibe of a fantastical, yet dark, spiritual journey through the use of huge chugging riffs and thespian vocals. This is one journey that will make you think and head-bang in equal amounts. Needless to say, I am very impressed.
