ATHANASIA – The Order Of The Silver Compass

Scandinavia may be a long way from Los Angeles, but that hasn’t kept Los Angeles based trio Athanasia from their mission to combine Melodic Metal, Bay Area Thrash and Scandinavian Black Metal into a their own hybrid sound. It’s a bold experiment with mixed results.

It’s evident from the opener “Read Between The Lines” they make a concerted effort to stay true to their hybrid sound. They combine elements of the aforementioned genres with varying tempos and stuttering riffs which creates a sound more closely resembling the Progressive/Avant-garde Metal style of Meshuggah.

The band dials in Active Rock for “Spoils Of War” featuring a distinct Melodic Metal edge. Using mostly clean vocals and melodic guitar work, this song would not be out of place next to songs by Three Days Grace or All That Remains. This is a well written and easily accessible song. “The Order Of The Silver Compass” creates an aggressive blend of Extreme and Thrash Metal opting for clean vocals only on the chorus. Harsh vocals aside, this is a Thrash Metal song which guitarist/vocalist Caleb Bingham advises listeners to “max out your volume knobs and prepare to thrash!!!” It’s followed by “Cyclops Lord (My Will Is Done)” another Thrash Metal song and flips the clean to harsh vocals ratio 180 degrees. “The Bohemian” is another Active Rock song ending with a heavy barrage of harsh vocals and sound effects. “The Mechanized Assault” is full on Melodic Death Metal imparting Dark Tranquility sans keyboards.

The album ends with a pair of misfires. “Nightmare Sound” is the most serious and full attempt at their hybrid vision. It starts with a melodic guitar intro which gets unceremoniously bulldozed under an onslaught of Extreme Metal riffs and blasting percussion. There are repeated jarring transitions between Extreme and Melodic segments which fails a cohesive whole. “White Horse”, a dull cookie-cutter Modern Metal ballad, closes the album on a disappointing note with a full minute of droning destruction sound effects.

The Order Of The Silver Compass debuts a highly original hybrid of Metal styles but struggles to make the vision a reality. The best songs on the album prominently favor one genre at a time.

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TRACKLIST (Highlights: 2, 3, 5, 6)

1. Read Between The Lines
2. Spoils Of War
3. The Order Of The Silver Compass
4. Cyclops Lord (My Will Is Done)
5. The Bohemian
6. Mechanized Assault
7. Nightmare Sound
8. White Horse

LINEUP

Caleb Bingham – guitar, vocals
Brandon Miller – bass, vocals
Jason West – drums