Heirs Of Isildur
“The Crossroads Conundrum”
2017
After a slew of mediocre and lazy releases, I must say that fresh material was getting real disheartening to sit down and listen to. Opening the intro track of this Floridan release was not the most hopeful thing to actually face for the first few seconds, it followed like so for a few more seconds, but then it garnered energy and drive in exponential amount, then the second track hit…
It took me a while to get into the third track because I spend a lot of time gathering bit of my brain, because that song ‘Murky Water’ damn well blew my mind. Bear in mind that this is not what I would consider my ‘cup of tea’ which goes to show how much I enjoyed this release.
As far as music goes, it’s certainly avant-garde, with it’s synths and convolving rhythms and patterns. Indeed, I must say that each song stands out on it’s own, for better or for worse.
The album is well produced, but it is not without it’s caveats. The extreme vocals take too much room and they distract from easy listening of the other instruments playing, which is a shame because they are usually exhibiting wonderful melodies and riffage. And I suspect that the drums are either a drum machine or heavily aligned. The sheer perfection in the blast-beat sections give it away. This is by no means a bad thing in itself, but even the drums are a bit on the forefront which kid of betrays such facets and it slightly kills the vibe. But these are mere nitpicks at a solid ambitious core, for despite all mentioned it doesn’t really go overboard twith over-production.
I like the album cover. It’s a healthy take from the more contemporary artworks found in metal and personally I really dig it. Seen a similar art style like this a year ago and was easily attracted towards it.
All in all, the album ranges from listenable to outstanding, and I recommend this release to beginners in metal and veterans alike.
Tracklist:
1. The Discovery Paradox (Intro)
2. Murky Waters
3. Shiver
4. Crossroads
5. Endless Winter
6. Remnants
7. Transcendence
8. Lovelorn Betrayal
9. A Startling Divergence
10. Foundation of Fallacy
11. Syndrome (Degrade Devour Destroy)
12. From The Depths
https://www.heirsofisildur.com/
https://www.facebook.com/heirsofisildur/
Members:
Matt Knowles – Guitars/Vocals
Rating: 8.5 out of 10
~Carinivean