For all that has gone on in the many different worlds of death metal when it comes to innovation and challenging the norms of the sound, there is more than something to be said for acts that come around and manage to accomplish works that don’t really rock the boat in that regard. It is still a very big part of the death metal underworld to preserve those styles and veins of the sound that we’ve all come to revere, but, obviously, some are better at it than others. When it comes to the melodic side of the spectrum, we’ve seen a near-overload of new acts come around to show us how it can still be done from that classic approach to wild new experimentations. For their second album, Hiraes certainly channeled the origins of the sound but coated in a modern sleek that puts the performance almost square middle of the spectrum in great form.

By all accounts, what Hiraes has done here is not nearly as transformational for melodic death metal like what we see from acts like Countless Skies with much of this record falling easily within the norms of what the sound is capable of, but in no way does that mean “Dormant” isn’t filled to the brim with a deadly knowledge of how to deliver the goods at every possible turn. Whereas a band might fall into the trap of sounding all too similar for an entire album, Hiraes takes the credentials of its members from previous acts within the sound to great effect in order to ensure that “Dormant” lives to become the best that it could possibly be. Taking the whole of the record into account, it’s hard to say that Hiraes has done anything less than succeed at practically every given turn. Intensity wrapped magnificently with more than enough of that obvious melodic factor to really pull you into all that it has to offer, “Dormant” wastes no time and takes no chances with everybody’s talent on full display from the dynamic range of the vocalist to the very instrumentation of the work varying wildly to ensure that there’s plenty of diversity and identity between each of the ten tracks. The essentials of the sound are met gloriously. The pedigree of Hiraes is taken to full effect to ensure this record as something that fans of the style should absolutely take note of, for in a realm that has loads of potential, Hiraes is already demonstrating talent and flavor with their material so early on in their run.

While this is a far cry from some of the most fascinating work of melo-death, there’s no way to deny or ignore the splendor of what Hiraes has accomplished here. On just their second album, Hiraes has put forth a very respectable work of the sound to devastate and astound in several instances with the very spirit of “Dormant” something to be respected and admired for all that it dares to become.

“Dormant” releases on January 26th via Napalm Records!

LISTEN to singles from “Dormant” on Bandcamp here.

LIKE Hiraes on Facebook here.