By: John McLaughlin
Dethlehem | website | facebook | twitter | bandcamp |
Released on January 6, 2015 Independent
Quick, without thinking too much about it, when did the last truly noteworthy album in the melodic death metal genre come out?
If you’re like me, and many others, you’re probably struggling with that question. The genre was a dominant force in heavy music from the 1995 release of Slaughter of the Soul up through the mid-2000’s, and drew in a slew of new fans to heavy metal, including yours truly. It also collapsed relatively quickly under the weight of generic sound-alikes and bad metalcore acts, and while big names like Dark Tranquillity, Insomnium, and The Black Dahlia Murder continue to put out well-received material, worthy new blood in the genre has come few and far-between in recent years.
Enter Dethlehem, a Pittsburgh, PA-based quintet (possibly a quartet; Heavy Blog is Heavy says their new guitarist is named Durok Magicfest, but they’ve never officially announced his membership) with a penchant for on-stage battle armor and a love of RPGs both tabletop and electronic. My first experience with the band was this past January at MAGfest in National Harbor, MD, where they dominated the stage with a very impressive live set complete with video backing and a guest appearance by Mega Man. Their third album Destroyers of the Realm had just been officially released a couple of weeks prior, and since purchasing it at the fest eight months ago, it has seldom left my ears.
Being an RPG-themed band, every album in Dethlehem’s discography has had a story behind it, and Destroyers of the Realm is no exception, as each member of the band plays a role in a party on quest to destroy an evil overlord who has stolen a weapon of great power. The theme may seem cheesy to some, and combined with the crude humor found in the three narrated interludes, the description of the band may be off-putting enough to scare away some potential listeners. Avoiding the band on these premises is a mistake, however, as the musical portions of the band are handled quite seriously. The lyrics are fantasy-based with subtle RPG references, but are very much in line with typical metal lyrics and never descend into Gloryhammer or Alestorm levels of parody.
The music, meanwhile, is just as important to the advancement of the story as the lyrics, defining the impact of the tale every step of the way. Destroyers of the Realm has all of the hallmarks of a prototypical Gothenburg melodeath album – groovy heavy riffs, Iron Maiden/Helloween-inspired melodies, mix of harsh and clean vocals – and includes a few orchestral flourishes and chiptune electronics during some parts as well. Those riffs and melodies are, for the most part, masterfully crafted, carrying most of the emotional weight of the story. The band also eschews the typical verse-chorus-verse format, and opting for proggier, more adventurous (pun intended) structures gives the band freedom to really match the story and music; ‘Knightmare’ would not fittingly describe a war-ravaged world if constrained to pop song form, nor would ‘Shadow Remnants of the Guardian Shield’ suit the labyrinth journey it describes, nor would ‘Final Voyage of the Gobblinaught’ sound like the massive battle anthem it is.
In a genre that became known for being overrun with clones, at no point does Destroyers of the Realm feel generic or overdone, and at no point does any particular element feel out-of-place or excessive. Dethlehem has crafted something that holds plenty of depth, while remaining catchy, easily digested, and fun to listen to. While there is definitely a nostalgic element to my enjoyment of this album both musically and thematically, the fact is that these riffs speak for themselves and stand on their own. Don’t sleep on this album.
