7.27.2009

VIATROPHY- Viatrophy

Something strange is going on in Reading. The commuter town, formerly only famous for… well, nothing really, is slowly building up a respectable roster of metal bands. Sure, there aren’t any shops, jobs or things to do there but any place that produces talent like Sylosis, Malefice, and Tesseract at the same time can’t be all bad. And with the release of their debut full-length, new additions to the list Viatrophy certainly haven’t let the side down either. Hell, they’ve even come up with the goods to compete on an international level.

Opener proper ‘Mistress of Misery’ is as technical as it is epic (a mix the band employ fantastically and frequently here), ‘Seas of Storms’ is made to please headbanging metallers, post-metal beard-strokers and hardcore chug-lovers alike but doesn’t ever get muddled or lost in metalcore tedium, and if ‘Futile Prayer’ is an almost black metal burst of rage then ‘Sufferance’ is the smart, melodic scene-stealer- a song blessed with strength, style, shiny hooks, and that irresistible x-factor that suggests it won’t be long before Viatrophy break through to bigger things. Oh, it’s not going to change the world- leave that for this lot’s next album- but turn this up loud enough and it is more than capable of shaking it damn hard. Superb.

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