Skip to main content

SVN SEEKER Means To An End Review

Melodic Death metal is a delicate balance. The intertwined guitar melodies are alluring at first, but their musings often become too saccharine for my tastes. It's like the musical version of cotton candy. The first few bits might be a sweet novelty, but then I'm stuck massive wad of sugar the size of my head, and a stomach ache.


Here we have a Connecticut-based band of riff wielders, the curiously spelled SVN SEEKER, with a debut EP that proudly boasts of the melodic death metal moniker. And guess what? It's not terrible! It's not terribly original, either, but for now we'll focus on its strengths. 

This five-song rager begins with an instrumental piano piece, "The Plot," which sets the expectation that this is death metal from the minds of thinkers, not cavemen with HM-2 pedals. The band blasts in with "Pilfered," and waste no time showcasing their powerful drumming and shredding abilities. Vocalist and guitarist Nikita Khrenev switches between screechy black metal shrieks to growls, like a touch of Dissection with the lighter, more playful tones of Children Of Bodom. Khrenov nails a killer solo at the end of "Pilfered," but  the song abruptly peters soon after, without affording it the proper kiss off it deserves. It's like the guy spent all day writing this great guitar lead and ran out of ideas.



The next track "Seeking My Own Sun" kicks off with the bass-heavy riff set to a speedy thrash pace. It reminds me of At The Gates Slaughter Of The Soul, which remains my personal gold standard of melodic death metal, even if it's been imitated to death. I joked on Twitter that this band should be "Seeking Their Own Sound," because the song makes an unfortunate detour into an triplet-filled breakdown, the kind I associate with metalcore acts like Trivium, rather than death metal. Maybe that's not a deal breaker for you, but it sure as hell ain't my flavor of ice cream! 

Here lies my major criticism with these upstarts: These dudes know how to write, and they know how to play pretty damn well. The guitar work is hooky and intricate, with an air of neo-classical influence, but just when I find myself grooving with vibe, they veer into an uninspired deathcore beatdown. The entire riff becomes a simple, syncopated rhythm comprised of a single note, maybe with a guitar solo or screaming overlaid. Sure, that was cool in 1988 when Metallica did it in "One," but I have higher standards in 2021. 

My other issue is the mixing. The drums, and snare in particular, tend to overpower the guitars. Their skinsmasher Pat Conaty unleashes a tight barrage in the rhythm department, but they seem too prominent in the mix. The drums are in the front of the sonic landscape rather than the solid foundation that all voices build upon, which detracts from the thoughtful guitar compositions.

Now that Svn Seeker got their first-time follies out of the way, I'm curious to see how they evolve. These young guns demonstrate a command and certain mastery of their respective instruments with Means To An End. I hoe that this record serves as a means for Svn Seeker to maximize their skills into an attack that is distinctly, and destructively, their own. 

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Interview with Pan-Amerikan Native Front

War is coming! Pan-Amerikan Native Front is among the fierce bands who lead the charge of in digenous black metal in the Americas. This group is fronted by its enigmatic chief, Kurator of War. Their 2016 full length Tecumseh's War  beats like a war club through the life and conflict of its namesake. Earlier this year, Pan-Amerikan Native Front released the Native Amerikan Black Metal split w ith the Ifernach, which is already sold out of of vinyls their bandcamp . Behold this interview I conducted with Kurator Of War.  Tecumseh's War was inspired by the life of Tecumseh, and it's a blistering musical journey. What was your inspiration for the Native Amerikan Black Metal split, lyrically, thematically and musically? The split album continued to retain a conceptual and storytelling approach, much like Tecumseh's War, and with a similar range of songwriting styles I implemented with the previous album. When Ifernach and I began focusing on themes we naturally landed on ...
Post a Comment
Read more

OG Blasphemy: An interview with Profanatica's Paul Ledney

Profanatica is widely recognized as the first United States black metal band. Building on the foundation set forth by Venom and Hellhammer, Profanatica has spewed a rambunctious attack on all that is holy since 1990. Their antics on and off stage gained the same notoriety as their hellish music. While their European counterparts posed for photographs with candelabras and swords, Profanatica did photos with blood dripping from their limp dicks. Grainy VHS from the early 90s interviews show them giggling as they rip pages out of a bible and eat them. In many ways, Profanatica is one of the metal bands to become a meme. The recordings of what was to become their first album was destroyed by spiteful band mates before it was ever released in 1990 - read on to find out more about that fateful event. It was nearly two decades later that Profanatica birthed their first full length  Profanatitas De Domanatias in 2007. Rotting Incarnation Of God  is Profanatica's upcoming full len...
Post a Comment
Read more

Interview with SODOM's Tom Angelripper

"It's time to die!"  Nearly 40 years since their formation, Sodom proves their metal attack gets nastier with each year. Their upcoming album Genesis XIX is a thoroughly headbanging affair. It marks the return of guitarist Frank Blackfire, who shredded on their landmark albums Persecution Mania (1987) and 89's  Agent Orange, as well as the addition of second guitarist Yorck Segatz, for Sodom's first run as a quartet.  Genesis XIX delivers the heavy artillery one expects from Sodom. It's got the punk influence on it's catchy single "Sodom and Gomorrah", reminiscent of their original, dearly departed drummer Chris Witchhunter (RIP). Songs like "Dehumanized" and "Nicht Meir Mein Land" feature blast beats from their new drummer Toni Merkel, with the latter sinking into an infectiously groovy mid-tempo swagger. Vocalist and bassist Tom Angelripper is the driving force of Sodom. His raspy vocals and distorted bass are the centerpiec...
Post a Comment
Read more