Honorable Mentions from the Abyss #26: Starbynary/Flat Earth Society/Morbid Death

Hey brutal bangers,

this new episode with "Honorable Mentions from the Abyss" (no reviews, no votes, just mentions) is a little bit particular because it sees three bands that, ranging from power metal (POWER METAL? Oooooh yes!) to metalcore, interpret their own genres with a progressive and experimental approach. In addition, I received their albums through their label, the Spanish Art Gates Records, as shown, for example, with "Metal in the Box #2".

Expect to be surprised in EVERY LINE of this article!

STARBYNARY - "DIVINA COMMEDIA: PURGATORIO"

It was since the time I reviewed the Airborn that there was no power metal on this not so power metal pages. Today this genre comes back with the Starbynary (FB page), a quintet whose members come from two Northern Italian regions such as Lombardy and Friuli-Venezia Giulia. Founded in 2013, the band started in 2017 a series of albums focused on the Dante's "Divine Comedy", so to release that year "Divina Commedia: Inferno", a second album that was based, indeed, on the journey of Dante into the Hell. Well, in 2019 Starbynary released its follow-up, "Divina Commedia: Purgatorio", so to transpose into music the journey of Dante's through the Purgatory. And how is the music?

First of all, like every album by Starbynary, also this last one is very long but it is so long to reach the not so easy duration of 69 minutes. Secondly, these 5 guys unchain all their imagination with an unpredictable and progressive power metal played in a theatrical way. We're talking about a power metal that ranges without problems of any sort from very atmospheric and whispered passages to fast moments even in blast-beat, offering here and there solemn parts with gregorian chants. The mood changes a lot but it's often dark, so it isn't a case if you can find clear black metal influences, like in a song as "Underneath the Stones". Various is also the vocal performance of Joe Caggianelli, that sings not only in English but also in Italian (even in vernacular) and in Latin. Full of neoclassic and virtuosistic solos by the keyboards and by the guitar and comprising guests like Elisa Stefanoni on vocals, Nicola Brovelli on cello and Gian Andrea Guerra on violin, "Divina Commedia: Purgatorio" isn't exactly my cup of tea but there are to appreciate a lot the monumental efforts made by Starbynary, from the music to the lyrics. And now how's about "Divina Commedia: Paradiso"?

FLAT EARTH SOCIETY - "FRIENDS ARE TEMPORARY, EGO IS FOREVER"

Time ago I reviewed a three-piece called Kremlin that seriously believes in the infamous flat earth theory. Instead, today it's the turn of a very young Spanish band that has a lot of fun by joking about the believers of the flat earth. So, they were formed in 2018 with an aptly moniker like Flat Earth Society (don't confound them with the homonymous Belgian brass band, mind you!), and this year, after a single in 2019, they spewed forth an amazing debut album entitled "Friends are Temporary, Ego is Forever". With this band, the flat earth theory was never so funny than now haha!

Featured into "Come on, burn my ears! #8", this demented group (FB page) is definitely a rare beast! I am saying this because this 8-track debut album surprises in every fuckin' second through a progressive and totally schizoid metalcore that seems to be a creative combination between August Burns Red and The Dilling Escape Plan. Effectively their sound is so schizoid that you can find a lot of different solutions also in a single song. For example, "Danko" is initially very violent, then it becomes atmospheric and, finally, there is a breakdown perfect for the wildest moshpit. And there is need to say that the band is also able to be very complex and very catchy at the same time, as exemplified by "Legfist", that contains contagious rock'n'roll parts with puzzling riffs. This extreme variety, united with a strong balancement between the different parts of the band, is respected also by a vocal performance alternating harsh vocals with diverse clean vocals. In brief, "Friends are Temporary, Ego is Forever" has everything you need: violence, catchiness, intensity, high technical skills, creativity, experimentation, melody, atmosphere... and also irony, so useful in a so serious extreme metal scene!

MORBID DEATH - "OXYGEN"

How is it possible to form a metal band in a place rich of beautiful and sunny landscapes like the Azorean Islands? Well, Morbid Death (FB page), the pioneers of the Azorean metal, did it! Existing since even the now far 1990, Morbid Death released in 2020 their 4th album "Oxygen", published even after 16 years from their previous album, "Unlocked". Now, did you see with attention the strange cover artwork of "Oxygen"? Yes or not, believe me that the music into the album is even stranger than the same cover artwork!

Essentially, Morbid Death, that I included in "Come on, burn my ears! #5", shows through this almost 53-minute album a mid-tempo mixture between the melodic death metal and the gothic metal, with a versatile singer able to be aggressive but also melodic, in a style combining Moonspell in their most gothic era and In Flames. But, song after song, you'll discover industrial influences (also thanks to the often present keyboards), a more heavy metal-oriented number like "Cry Me Out", a titletrack that is pure delirium with its oriental tunes and including a... sitar (!!!), a very emotional ballad rightly entitled "Dark Love", a sort of instrumental with black metal influences like the absurdly named "Jordsträngar", some classical guitar solos here and there (WTF?) and... and the rest is up to you if you would like to discover this album in its entirety! It's incredible that a so old band sounds so modern and, above all, so fresh! But, at the end, the Portuguese metal scene is really surprising in these years and I love it for this!