Written: 1st April 2024
Ever since Parisian Melodic Death Metal band Once Upon The End began, they have established themselves as a band that seeks to examine the potentially catastrophic path that mankind is walking in regard to our guardianship of the Earth. In 2022, vocalist Seditius left the band and there was some doubt as to whether the quintet would continue. However, determined to produce more music, Once Upon The End recruited new vocalist Ezalyr and in order to introduce her, they decided to make this EP of re-imagined and re-recorded songs from their past. Three of the tracks (Dying Concrete, Moon Scavengers and The Old Ones) originally appeared on their 2019 EP Prelude.
Dying Concrete begins with an urgent thrash metal riff and we are welcomed to the world of Once Upon The End with a guttural scream from Ezalyr announcing her presence immediately. As the track progresses, the roots and influences of the band roar into life. The Gothenburg metal scene plays a clear part in the make-up of the band’s sound and they embrace both the formidable energy and the melody that is so closely associated with that part of metal history. Lyrically, Dying Concrete is an ominous foretelling of the possible consequences of modern society’s unsustainable trajectory, the devaluation of the individual and the loss of connection to the natural world. Cities burn all around me / In flames of corruption / Drowning in boiling gold / I was raised as a simple brick / Among forests of concrete towers / I feel like running / Amid collapsing mountains. Two minutes in, a quieter, melodious section allows the listener time to reflect on a world where natural elements are replaced with artificial ones. Steel replaced grass / Silicon replaces flesh / Only ashes will remain / And we are all the embers / Of this chaos. As the track reaches its conclusion, the twin guitars of Koal and Loerk intertwine and occasionally coalesce in harmony and just as the listener feels the track is about to end, calm but unsettling acoustic guitar takes over as Robert Oppenheimer’s most famous quote hangs in the air. “We knew the world would not be the same. A few people laughed; a few people cried. Most people were silent. I remembered the line from the Hindu scripture, the Bhagavad-Gita; Vishnu is trying to persuade the Prince that he should do his duty, and to impress him, takes on his multi-armed form and says, 'Now I am become Death, the destroyer of worlds.' "
We Are The Dead opens with a single dark but deceptively lilting guitar until this is joined by another providing another level of foreboding. Guitars then ignite with predatory flight and the band dives into the life of those fortunate (or unfortunate) enough to have suffered the horrific apocalypse. Groly’s bass rampages across the devastated landscape that the band conjure with their spiralling solos, compelling riffs and pyretic drumming. Nevertheless, the quintet’s use of dynamics allows for the more peaceful moments to bring a quiet unease to the songs. They roam the wastelands / Like broken robots / Without a screen to guide them / Toxic world, empty brain.
Third track Moon Scavengers is the fastest of the four songs that make up Archive 200 and brings to mind the music of In Flames. It is a sulphurous attack on humans, our insatiable but flawed lust for consumption of natural resources, the cost of environmental degradation and a potential next target for exploitation. Blind mowers / Reaping the branch they stand on / Will fly away the day / Their mother-world shall collapse / Lords of plundering / Now they have finished off the Earth / The virgin moon / They shall scavenge. Moon Scavengers does not cease in its savagery throughout the song and illustrates why Ezalyr was recruited as her resolute vocals deliver the band’s chilling vision of the future. The Old Ones, which reflects on humanity’s search for meaning and place in the universe, begins with deep, sinister, premonitory choral like vocals as steady prowling bass lurks in the background. A thick, sludgy doom-laden riff brings an unpleasant feeling as the introduction builds steadily. It then becomes the most multi-faceted track on the EP, combining rapid blast beats, fervent chugging riffs, melodic solos and both growling and clean vocals.
On Archive 200, Once Upon The End have may a clear statement, showing just what their new vocalist is capable of. While it is not amongst the most original material you will hear - fans of Arch Enemy, In Flames and their ilk will find much that is familiar to them – the band also weave in influences from thrash metal, progressive metal and alternative metal which on some tracks, The Old Ones for instance, more closely aligns them with an act such as Infected Rain. The production quality is several levels above that of the Prelude EP for example with each instrumental nuance clearly audible. As a stop-gap before a new album, Archive 200 will be welcomed by fans. The true test lies in where the band heads next in their apocalyptic vision…
Archive 200 is released on 5th April 2024
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