Article By: Pat ‘Riot’ Whitaker ‡ Edited By: Leanne Ridgeway
With a name like A Very Loud Death, Atlanta’s A Very Loud Death might give the impression that they are a death metal band, right?
A very loud one at that too, but to be honest, nothing could be further from the truth. Allow me to rephrase that by saying that they may be loud, but they damned sure are not death metal. What they are is rather cool, emotionally riveting Post-Metal / Progressive Rock. It definitely has some darker aspects to it, both musically and aurally in general, and those are definitely what comes through loud and clear. The feeling and spectrum of emotional transmissions relayed here are palpably evident and assuredly definite.
It is all structured and defined with layer upon layer of audible texturing provided by the trio of guitarist/vocalist Chris Edge, bassist Bryan Peel and drummer/ percussionist Cole O’Neil Robertson. The trio provides some powerfully illuminating music that is quite diversified and moody, it is as haunting as it is beautiful at certain points. With this much feeling will always come thinking and that is more as matter of fact here, there’s a definite thought-out process at play.
While I enjoyed A Very Loud Death‘s ‘Lanterns‘ album in its entirety, I especially liked the vibe of the last few songs for some reason. The mid-way point of the record (“The Ease Of Absurdity“, “Deserts“, “The Wild“) really sets the stage for things to contrast, should they. For me, they do but in a rather subtle, probably indistinguishable way to most.
But as they do, or once have, I definitely dig the vibery of “Circus Mind“, “Daughters Of Melpomene“, and “Still Life: Cactus In A Cage“. This trio of tunes takes you on a careening rollercoaster of highs and lows, as does this album itself, but I took deeper notice here, especially in the heavier thrust of “Daughters Of Melpomene“, my favorite song I must say.
In closing, if you like the more melodic styling of progressive acts like The Mars Volta, Coheed And Cambria, or Cave-In then you need to check this out. ‘Lanterns‘ from A Very Loud Death is a volcanic outpouring of emotive, alluring, and ultimately, engrossing alternative rock. Come light up with the album right now via the Bandcamp streaming embed below.
A Very Loud Death has some live performances coming up this month in 2018, and here they are:
