Exocrine – Legend
Exocrine – Legend
Seasons Of Mist
Release Date: 26/01/24
Running Time: 43.30
Review by Oli Gonzalez
7/10
It’s New Year’s Day here in the UK, and I’m firing up my laptop for the first time since the Christmas break. I find myself back in France too. Not physically of course, but I seem to be exploring many bands from the nation as of late, many of which are leaning towards the Progressive and Experimental end of the Metal spectrum. There seems to be a conveyor belt of talent coming from France; Year Of No Light, Gojira, Regardes Les Hommes Tomber, Hypno5e, Alcest, and many, MANY more. As such, I couldn’t wait to get my hands on the latest record for technical death metallers Exocrine. Coming from Seasons Of Mist, this gives an instant seal of approval and badge of high quality too, and thus I was even more excited to get an exclusive listen to “Legend”. So, what to expect from the Bordeaux-quartet? Describing themselves as FFO of Ne Obliviscaris, Beyond Creation, and Virvum, I was expecting some progressive left-field compositional ideas and melodic passages combined with some good ol’ fashioned neck snapping heaviness! Let’s get into it…
The album opens with ‘Presage’, featuring a rather dramatic and cinematic opening before leading into what can only be described as a Technical Death Metal frenzy! Complex syncopated rhythms and intricately melodic, yet brutally heavy guitar work; this is exactly what I was expecting! This momentum is carried into the album’s title track, ‘Legend’. I had a flashback to discovering Nechrophagist in my later teenage years, with the skull-crushing intensity combined with more subtle and intricate progressive passages giving that effect and comparison to the German Tech-Metal legends. ‘Life’ demonstrates some outstanding production values, and captures the fierce and soaring tone of the guitars and bowel shaking lows of the bass perfectly! This is a solid start with some phenomenal individual elements. Structurally, this is definitely not a standard verse-chorus verse-chorus affair with the compositions raging through non-standard patterns and structures at breakneck speed. In some ways, I admire the creativity and the desire to create music within their own vision. However, I did begin to have some concerns about this approach to songwriting and wondered if there was a need to perhaps simplify a little bit and take the more standard path.
‘Eidolon’ seems to be another song where the guitar lead is the distinctive melodic hook and perhaps what the song was initially constructed around. Again, a fantastic individual component. I could say the same about many of the songs appearing in the mid-section of this album, as they feature some fantastic components in isolation. However, it seems as though there’s a frantic attempt to cram in as many as them in as possible without consideration for the overall flow of the song. This made for quite an uncomfortable and even frustrating listen in parts. Frustrating because I didn’t think there was enough time for each to be fully appreciated and to bed in fully before moving onto the next.
To use a culinary analogy to illustrate this, some of the world’s best dishes can consist of only a handful of ingredients. Each is treated with respect and the full potential of each is maximised. Add too many ingredients and you can easily ruin the overall harmony and balance of the meal. I fear this is what’s happening here. I would have preferred a bit more of a minimalist and / or traditional approach to the composition, or at least allowing the songs to be longer and giving more time for these musical ingredients to mature.
The final song ‘By the Light Of The Pyre’ was much better in this regard as it seemed to apply this approach. Especially as it’s the longest on the record, with the overall structure feeling less frantic and more considered. I particularly enjoyed another cinematic intro to the song, seeming like it would be suited to a Game Of Thrones style pre-battle scene. Whilst the trademark Technical Death Metal fury is a mainstay in the song. A satisfying way to round off the album and a more enjoyable listen.
Overall, whilst “Legend” can appear to be a bit mad-scientist in parts, there’s no doubt that there’s some phenomenal talent here and the production is second to none. This bodes well and spells real potential for the French technical death metallers, especially when they discover how to harness the undeniable skills of each member.
‘Legend’ Official Video
TRACKLISTING:
01. Presage
02. Legend
03. Life
04. Eidolon
05. The Altar Of War
06. Dust In The Naught
07. Warlock
08. Dragon
09. The Oath
10. By The Light Of The Pyre
11. Cryogenistation
LINE-UP:
Sylvain Octor Perez – Lead Guitars
Nicolas La Rosa – Guitars
Jordy Besse – Bass, Vocals
Theo Gendron – Drums
LINKS:
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