Day: April 2, 2016

Another band faces the proscenium of the most melancholic and melodic metal: we are talking about the Greeks Immensity, who, with The Isolation Splendour, enter to be part of the rich group of European bands dedicated to atmospheric doom death. The Hellenic band, in the course of this successful long-distance debut, proves to have learned to perfection the teachings of the best names in the industry, and I speak in particular of Swallow The Sun and Daylight Dies, without forgetting ideas found in bands from more recent history as Evadne and When Nothing Remains. If we want, this is the only sore point of the album, or the fact of not showing yet a completely personal sound unlike the bands mentioned above, which exhibit a peculiar and recognizable trait despite the differences between them are apparently minimal. However, the Athenian guys have a melodic taste and an impeccable vocal interpretation by Leonidas Hatzimichalis, excellent both with his fierce growl and with the more dreamy clean vocals. The Isolation Splendour is certainly very beautiful, with great sound, full of remarkable cues and, in the end, it flows exactly as the fan would expect, now driven by the painful guitar notes, now with the clean vocals to give breath to the dramatic aura provided by the growl. More brilliant in its first half, the album gives precisely three precious gems such as the opener Heartfelt Like Dying and Irradiance, more oriented to the style of overseas bands (in addition to the aforementioned Daylight Dies, even something of the first Novembers Doom), although unlike these we find more characterizing breaks with clean vocals, and the title track, the best song of the album in which are also found progressive nuances; anything but negligible, however, The Sullen, which offers considerable emotional cues thanks to the work of the lead guitar, Everlasting Punishment, instrumental song rather elegant, and the final Adornment, a sort of act of love towards My Dying Bride in its initial phase, with subsequent development of the melodic yearning, while Eradicate is an episode more opaque than the rest of the tracklist. It must be said that Immensity are active since the early years of the decade (in fact, the last two tracks mentioned are also present in the demo dated 2012), so what could appear derivative is often nothing more than a parallel path, under the banner of a common musical feeling, with other bands that emerged in relatively recent times. Ultimately, The Isolation Splendour is a work that will be appreciated not a little by fans of the more melodic side of death doom: the next goal for the Hellenic band will be to maintain this same standard of quality but making more personal their sound.

2016 – Hypnotic Dirge