The Pitch: Départe may not (always) be as technical as Ulcerate, but it feels as if the Australian band have shared a tourbus with their New Zealand counterparts. Employing more from the atmospheric and blackened spectrum, they create similarly desolate soundscapes
What I Like: This album is black as pitch. Haunting screams wail like a harsh wind through a lattice of leafless branches; the guitars the cacophonous windchimes of some abandoned cabin. In simple terms, the music lends itself readily to your own twisted imagination. The sudden emergence of clean vocals (both male and female) is a nice touch as well.
What I Don't Like: Things drag in certain places. Départe could stand being a bit more concise or at least change things up a bit more. A more successful (in my opinion) example of this style would be Akhlys or at times Nero di Marte. It's a minor qualm, but one that leaves Failure, Subside just a few steps behind the competition.
The Verdict: I feel like I have been reviewing more "fun" albums lately. This is not "fun." This is introspective mood music that will take you to some dark and unforgiving places. The band has done a fine job with this, and though they have a few other groups to duke it out with for genre supremecy, they aren't too far off the mark.
Flight's Fav's: "Grief Echoes (Golden Scars)," "Vessel"