Pennsylvania / USA
Hessian Firm
French label, Hessian Firm, has a predisposition toward unearthing some of the most innovative, yet killer bands in the underground, and you can always expect nothing but top-tier releases from said label. That brings us to Polemicist: a black/death duo (employing some session members) from Pennsylvania that will release their second album “Return of the Sophist” on June 25th, through Hessian Firm.
Intro “Dirthyramb” inaugurates this disc on a calm note before “The Way To Delphi” kicks the album in high gear, with harrowing vocals and a mournful guitar ambience composed of melodic underpinnings and incisive drums (notably played by Pendath of Mefitis fame). The music isn’t particularly technical, yet so full of emotion and depth, that you will be entranced by its mystic aura. Polemicist aims for a sound that is not typically heard in metal nowadays, with compositions that are catchy, energetic, and full of interesting ideas and textures.
“The Cave of Gaia” is a monstrous track with powerful melodies and an atmosphere that will compel you to the dark side. There’s definitely some hints of progressive rock in their sound, which are skilfully integrated, including the fact that there are some really excellent solos scattered throughout the album. I like this kind of melodic black/death metal. It’s atmospheric and easy to get into. It’s not plastic sounding, which makes it appeal to a more underground audience. In fact, I would put this in the same category as their label mates Mefitis, since both bands employ similar aesthetics, and can be categorized under the “dark metal” umbrella. This album is definitely no one track pony and features a great deal of variety, which gives it a lot of value in repeated listens, paired with how well everything is arranged.
“Return of the Sophist” is a purely awesome album and could easily be regarded as one of the highlights of the year, offering us an emphatically well-crafted palette of black/death metal brimming with darkness and passion. (HT)