Last time around in giving Voice of Ruin an investigation, it just felt too Lamb of God-inspired. Purge and Purify never suffered from a lack of energy, but it ultimately felt too reminiscent of LoG to really get too far off of the ground. With their latest effort, Acheron, it does feel like they are attempting to leave some of that in the dust.
Not that there aren’t still a number of Lamb of God-inspired moments, but there’s also some more notable European influence to take in as well. By European, in this case it’s more of a melodic death metal slant – something that certainly intrigues this scribe. A track like “Suffer – Recover” can still give the listener a LoG-esque stomp and groove, but there’s also a greater emphasis on some really elegant melodies that take place throughout the track. To the point that you are really fixated on how strong some of these melodic moments are. Other tracks try a more vigorous, intense approach a la “Holy Venom,” which starts off at full-speed and incorporates a great deal of frenetic riffing and well-timed melodic hooks (as well as a solid lead). Because of this added dynamic, when the band does go more into that thrash/groove switch up (see “One Way Ovedose”), it’s a more welcome and refreshed vibe than what they achieved last time around. There’s a much more interesting and varied feel to be found throughout the album.
Acheron is a welcome step up from Voice of Ruin. It may not ‘change the game,’ but it’s a solid piece of extreme metal that has enough melody to keep listeners interested and moving. Grooves, melodies, aggression – the fundamentals of what works in metal today.