Review Summary: A careful balance between complexity and accessibility make "Death of the Pilgrim" an engaging listen.
Self-described "progressive alternative metal" band Eminent occupy an interesting niche. Equally interested in displaying their musical ability and writing actual digestible
songs, they eschew the multi-part epics that are all too common in prog. The LA band's balance between accessibility and complexity are what make
Death of the Pilgrim an intriguing and rewarding album.
Their particular sound is a fusion of progressive metal, thrash and metalcore, though they mostly avoid the negative aspects of each. Guitar leads dance around upbeat rhythms in a way that ensures that there's always something going on, while the pleasantly melodic vocals reign it all together. A moment is seldom wasted as even the longest song doesn't reach the six-minute mark.
The two most immediate aspects of
Death of the Pilgrim are the vocals and the guitar. Bronic Bednarek's voice certainly brings alternative metal to mind, as his soaring clean vocals are powerful yet never become overly theatrical. Many of the songs feature strong choruses with infectious vocal melodies; "Control Your Reckless Mind" possibly being the best example, with multiple interwoven vocal lines complementing each other. Harsher vocals also appear in several songs and though they are not as impressive as the cleans, Bednarek transitions between the two with finesse.
Hovak Alaverdian and Andrew Movsissian handle the guitar duties, their performances ranging from dazzling fretboard gymnastics to pummelling metalcore breakdowns which (thankfully) aren't numerous. The fantastic solos are, however. Opening song "Pilgrimage" features one in its first minute. The guitar work has a certain exotic flavour that is difficult to describe, but prevalent enough to make
Death of the Pilgrim's sound distinct. Familiar-sounding harmonised metalcore riffs - such as the one that opens "Incitement" - are featured alongside more sinister, middle eastern-tinged leads such as those found in the excellent album closer, "Transcending".
As if there wasn't enough talent in the band already, bassist Vahe Shahinian's performance is prominent in the mix and gives a seismic low-end to the compositions. His playing isn't flashy but he also doesn't hesitate to add details to the rhythms. Lonny Pasillas' performance on the drums can be described similarly, you won't find distracting blastbeats or fills but instead busy rhythms that fill up the sound quite nicely.
However the album isn't perfect. While full and crisp, the sound is a little compressed. It feels unnecessarily loud and becomes tiring to listen to all the way through. This is exacerbated by another problem; the songs each have the same general mood and don't differ much from each other. There's such a consistent variety within the songs that individual tracks struggle to have their own identity. The vocal melodies also get uncomfortably familiar-sounding and almost overbearing by the end of the album. After the first few tracks you'll know almost exactly what's in store through the rest of the album.
Death of the Pilgrim is a peculiar album that stands out from most others in its genre. It has fantastic musicianship, crisp and clear instruments and great vocals. It makes up for the lack of overall diversity with songs that twist and turn, lacking any real surprises but not being formulaic either.
Death of the Pilgrim is an excellent début, let's hope that there'll be further successes in the future.
