Review Summary: An almost constantly dazzling yet tidily organised album from a band that has polished their core sound immensely, but that could stand to break from their genre's shackles even further.
Ukraine's Bestial Invasion has managed to carry the flag of tech-thrash in the modern scene for years, avoiding a lot of the pitfalls of the other revivalist bands that preceded them. Compared to your average modern thrash band, the overall sound of their last few albums has been a lot less restrained by the shackles of conforming to "thrash" songwriting, with more dynamic songwriting, more tonal variety, and, best of all, a whole lot of lead guitar, all the time. Divine Comedy: Inferno solidifies the band's sound even further, such that they sound miles away from just about any other modern thrash band. Despite occasionally falling into pitfalls that those other artists often do as well, Bestial Invasion's greater versatility and technical ability help to keep things fresh, interesting, and sometimes magnificent.
Apparent pretty much immediately is that Inferno is happy to go into territories more akin to tech-death in terms of the instruments, whilst retaining a lot of prog-power metal stylings with its hefty doses of melody, synths, lead playing, and rather marmite vocals. Opener
Limbo makes for quite the mission statement, opening with a bass-led riff which would impress anywhere, before launching into a melodic blast-beat section that your neighbours favourite thrash band wouldn't dare use (note: hypothetical, ontological assumption). Aided by some very clear, albeit somewhat lightweight production, Inferno presents a wide and densely layered sound with plenty of harmony lines and some excellent backing vocals throughout. The overall tone is also less dissonant, with fewer of the the usual flat 5th chords that seem to be a tech-thrash band's ol' reliable when they don't have any other ideas. This results in a more cohesive and melodically creative sound, with more of the riffing being led by smooth-voice leading.
Worthy of its own segment is the lead playing of Denis Shvarts. Doing double duty as soloist in chief and keyboard player, his playing is its own highlight, with plenty of solos all over the album and some creative melodies that help elevate many of the bridges, pre-choruses and other key melodic moments to incredible heights. His diverse playing goes from the expected neo-classical lines to some great funky and jazzy lines that are so effective that they glue together the overall sound and tone, resulting in an overall sound which feels cohesive but also miles away from the usual passe thrash. Arguably aiding in this are the more divisive vocals. Vakhtango Zadiev doesn't quite go into the Alan Tecchio territory of wailing so distractingly that it masks the overall sound, but his King Diamond-esque banshee vocals feel like they miss as much as they hit. He has plenty of strong moments, such as during Limbo or the more power-metally
Fraud, so his frequently off-key falsetto is not necessarily to the album's detriment, but it does feel like a weak spot next to the uniformly excellent guitar, bass, and drum performances.
One of the biggest strengths of the album, which helps alleviate the usual samey-ness of most thrash releases, is that they are just as happy to play relaxed tempos and melodic breaks as they are pulverizing the listener with grandiose arrangements and relentless riffs. The overall strongest track here,
Heresy, almost feels like a Shrapnel-era artist's track with its emphasis on mid-paced prog riffs and incredible lead playing. The relatively stripped down sound of its harmonious chorus and ensuing clean instrumental break makes it clear that not Bestial Invasion is not just technical but highly capable of writing memorable melodies and hooks.
Some more typical thrash stylings happen throughout the album, and are mostly successful, but in comparison to the more intricate sounds of the more overtly proggy sections, the relatively unoriginal riffs feel undercooked.
Lust and
Gluttony, for example, carry all the good elements of the overall songwriting package with dynamic tempos and the same universally great lead playing, but the verse riffs lack the same spice as some of stronger tracks. Rather than every moment being a feast for the ears, ON TOP of the great overall structuring, the sound feels a bit more restrained and less dazzling. Both have their share of strong moments, such as the unexpectedly catchy chorus on Gluttony, which manages to transition in-and-out of a mixolydian lead passage with eerie smoothness; or Lust's second half, with its power-metal leads and subsequent half-time riffing that achieves the groove that felt somewhat missing in its more rote thrash riffing. Perhaps if Bestial Invasion retained some of their slightly edgier sounds from Contra Omnes, such as some slightly black metal influence or grittier production, those simpler thrash segments would be stronger, but as they are, they feel like stop-gaps between melodic and densely layered technical twists where the album's appeal lies.
While it may not necessarily scratch your
Mekong Delta or
Obliveon itch with its very "more is more" sound, Divine Comedy: Inferno certainly outclasses the vast majority of thrash released since 1994 (or thereabouts, who's counting really?). With weaker moments that would be highlights on your favourite, uh,
Havok (?) record, Bestial Invasion manages to deliver an almost constantly impressive, complex, and catchy album. Moreover, the fairly clear dichotomy in their strengths and weaknesses means it's easy to see where the band could elevate themselves to the top-echelon of extreme metal.
