A progressive death metal act from Reading, PA, Subterranean Lava Dragon merges members from Black Crown Initiate and Minarchist into a new act that seems ripe with premise. After all, both acts provided nothing less than top tier work in this particular subgenre of metal. Interestingly enough, this trio of vocalist Connor McNamee, bassist Nick Shaw, and guitarist/vocalist Ethan McKenna actually started this music over a decade ago, and it’s finally seeing fruition and release.
While one can grab some immediate enjoyment from The Great Architect, it’s a lot to take in at once. While it’s a pretty digestible 43-minutes, that’s divided by only six songs. It doesn’t take much math to deduce that each track is chock-full of complex instrumentation with all but two of the cuts exceeding six minutes each. That said, the title track sits as the shortest at just shy of five minutes, and is the most approachable to start with. It’s still full of mind-boggling melodies and prog fireworks, and what makes it work (much like the other tracks) is that there’s still a distinct heaviness to it. McNamee’s growls merge with the massive riffs. The slowdown in the track’s second half is almost doomy in its weight. On the opposite end, you have the nearly twelve minute “Bleed the Throne,” which never once loses steam. From crushingly heavy passages to soaring melodic moments, it keeps the listener fixated as it weaves its story through many tempos and dynamics. It’s also got plenty of soloing across the board that never really goes into overkill territory.
What’s also nice about The Great Architect is how each player gets to shine. While some groups get bogged down with putting the attention on the guitarwork, it’s just one piece here. McKenna does a fantastic job with keeping the progressive guitar melodies and riffs quite intriguing and complex (not to mention the solos), it’s nice to see the wealth shared. Shaw’s basswork is a consistent joy, with a dominant sound within the mix and even allowing the opportunity for bass solos. McNamee’s clean vocals absolutely soar at the right moments, while his growls have menace yet sound intelligible. McKenna also adds to the vocal front, with some notable layers adding in to make the sound more epic when needed.
A fantastic new band to reference within the progressive death metal community, one has to hope that The Great Architect doesn’t go unnoticed. As a definite passion project that was fifteen years in the making, Subterranean Lava Dragon are a name to watch if you enjoy extreme metal on the more proggy side of the scene.