Review Summary: By far the most creative modern deathcore-adjacent band out there. Over the top and all around the place, but oh boy does it work
Spire of Lazarus are a band from Vienna that play technical death metal with a modern deathcore stylistic vibe. This third album of theirs is a real shocker, with absolute potential to dominate the whole scene. Why they haven't done so yet (not even here on Sputnik) is anyone's guess, though I would assume it's because they lack the social media presence, networking capabilities and/or panache of most bands from the Anglosphere countries. There is no other explanation that comes to mind, because honestly? This stuff is just out of this world.
Many classic albums have this odd trait - while they provide unforgettable experiences, their flaws are often laid bare to see and most listeners acknowledge them, yet still love the albums despite them. With more mediocre music, on the other hand, you'll often have nothing particular to nitpick at, but at the same time you'll have nothing that blew you away either. This album, I feel, falls into the former category, if at least for the fact that a veritable bevy of styles and influences are showcased here. First off, technical death metal with audible inspirations from both the Canadian neo-classical tech death scene, mainstays like Archspire and self-indulgent projects such as Rings of Saturn - though the ultra-precise sweeps and taps usually serve a much better purpose musically than in the latter's music. This is combined with a vaguely Egyptian-themed, upbeat sense of melody, not unlike what you'd hear from bands such as Shadow of Intent, liberal use of sound filters that chop the sound up into something evocative of electronica, like Within the Ruins liked to do (cool kids stuff), and modern, late 10s, early 20s deathcore aesthetics, including the same exact style and variety of vocals you'd hear from bands that lead the genre today. Still, deathcore by now is a genre so mature (or perhaps more accurately: overripe) that many bands take only certain elements from it by now, rather than fully embrace the vast majority of its tropes, and it's definitely the case here. The deathcore influences shine through in the production, vocal styles, occasional syncopated riffing and the overall "cool" aesthetic, and less so in the use of breakdowns, of which there are few and all of them written seamlessly into the surrounding song structures.
An odd combination, you might think? Well, absolutely. It's almost too over the top to work, but somehow these guys have found a way. There is enough dynamics and songwriting quality to let the songs breathe when needed, buildups and climaxes are maintaned, and interludes and softer parts engage the listener at every turn. There are even two tracks featuring one Pipi Gogerl, a female vocalist also from Austria, who usually sings for prog metal bands and has a dreamy, spacey voice similar to that of the much beloved Mel Rose of Mechina fame, adding a new atmospheric dimension to the band (not unlike Fallujah's own).
What are the downsides that keep Soaked In The Sands from being perfect? Well, first off the vocals and production sound completely indistinguishable from the bands these guys seem to have wanted so much to emulate - which unfortunately makes them come across as very trend-chasey. Both of these could have been changed without the album losing anything of value, and potentially gaining something. What seems to corroborate this impression is the similarity of the overall sound to the aforementioned band Shadow of Intent - at least used as a starting point in crafting the sound, onto which more stylistic influences are added. Spire of Lazarus do sound like them - both in riffage and in production - though you will likely not dwell on that impression very long due to the plethora of additional influences involved.
One review here on Sputnik (I think it was an Omnium Gatherum album) has its summary ask the question "who says cheaters can't prosper?" I believe nowhere is this statement as true as in relation to Spire of Lazarus. Indeed - while their sound will not exactly be heard from any single other band, it's nevertheless difficult to truly call it their own. They just decided to emulate all bands they like with 100% accuracy and mash them together into single songs. That's why you'll hear fragments of aforementioned Archspire or Rings of Saturn at one time, fragments sounding almost exactly like Fallujah at others, and so on and so forth. It's like the one band is a cover band of several other bands simultaneously. Is it necessarily a bad thing? Well, as with all things, everything depends on the quality of execution. Even such shameless imitation can work if the band can write songs, and goddammit, these guys can sure do that.
So if you can tolerate the arguably unnecessary framing of the whole package in production and vocal equilibristics entirely reflective of modern deathcore tropes, there is plenty on this album to make up for these peeves. There's just so much going on! The dynamics and variety provide appropriate reprieve from the frequent blast beat laden onslaughts, and the sense of melody keeps you hooked.
Moral of the story? Apparently whatever the Americans and Australians have, Austrians have at home in spades too. But there's also a sad lesson to take away from here - if you're not lucky, marketable, look good or are good with social media, no amount of good music will let you make it big. We should break the trend - spread the word about these guys, as they deserve all the recognition they can get.
4.1
