Hiatuses are a fickle thing. While people tend to see them as a bad thing, a break can be just the thing any artist might need to rejuvenate their creative drive to eventually return to fans in top form without burnout or creative fatigue diluting whatever it is they may craft. Thirteen years, though? That’s a hell of a long time by all accounts with legions of bands having called it a quits after such a length of time. Yet, for some, perseverance is the only option. With the arrival of its second album, Architect of Seth proves to be a rare phenomenon with a truly exceptional work placed before us.
It’s no secret that the world of technical death metal has seen tons of growth over the past decade with there being loads of new names coming out of the woodwork trying their best to add their names to the glory the genre still has to offer, yet there’s something distinctly different about what Architect of Seth has brought to the table that overshadows much of what has come before. Perhaps it’s how long it has taken “Solitude Solaire” to mature or the personal trials and tribulations that the mastermind behind Architect of Seth went through to finally bring this vision to life or something else entirely, but it’s throughout the entire expanse of these eight mesmerizing tracks that we’re given a display of power the likes of which the genre is lucky to witness even just once a year. Technicality masterful spread across an infectious bed of thrash and death metal that ensures both blistering speed and unyielding ferocity, “Solitude Solaire” is an uncompromising experience that leaves you utterly flattened by the time the record comes to a close. Refusing to ever put itself within conventional genre boundaries, it quickly becomes obvious that Architect of Seth has crafted something that defines extraordinary to tremendous effect as “Solitude Solaire” establishes itself as an all-engrossing work that not only puts much of the competition to shame but shows us that talent of this sort was well worth the thirteen years it took to come life in such an exquisite form.
Works such as this are truly few and far between. Architect of Seth has crafted an exceedingly personal work that cannot be easily likened to many others out there despite the crowdedness of technical death metal as a whole, but it’s through immense flavors and more than enough personality that this record stands head and shoulders above vast swathes of the competition. “Solitude Solaire” is a singularly captivating performance that leaves nothing on the table, leaves nothing to chance, and leaves absolutely no survivors as the album’s might pummels and eviscerates but never once fails to astound and stun.
“Solitude Solaire” releases on November 6th via I, Voidhanger Records!
LISTEN to advanced tracks from “Solitude Solaire” on Bandcamp here.
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