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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. 

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