- ALBUM REVIEW
- Solacide - Baptized in Disgust
- Unsigned
To describe Solacide as a melodic black metal band is accurate, but the phrase doesn’t quite capture the diversity or freshness of their sound. At times, their melody takes them into very modern waters, with agile, shredding leads that nod to other melodic Finnish acts, and a squealing fretboard prowess that fits in with bands considered quite ‘trendy’ these days. Still, Solacide’s technical skills are not wasted on plain showing off, even if the sheer speed of the leads on "Anymore" is designed to impress. They ground their approach with a gutsy, thrash influence, employing real shred to give their sound a lethal punch.
"Baptized in Disgust" is also a very mature and considered recording, and so the flair that characterises the solos and leads is counterbalanced by a grown-up progressiveness in the general song structuring. "Disgust" employs an evolving, surprising warmth, but keeps the listener on edge with an uncomfortably discordant counterflow that really evokes modern-day Enslaved. The same influence is clear on "God on Fire", which seems to be the most straightforwardly black metal track, and combines a driving, busy, layered nature with great writing to allow for a build up of atmosphere and plenty of space in which the listener can absorb what they are hearing.
In all, Solacide are a very creative and unique act, mixing up a whole range of influences with a lot of skill and vision. A longer release, where ideas could be spread out over more tracks, would give their song-writing even more power, and we can only hope that someone decides to adopt them onto a roster soon. They seem to be at a crossroads with plenty of potential, and have abundant talent to take them down whichever path they choose.
- 75/100
- Ellen Simpson
