The Pitch: "French progressive metal quintet The Dali Thundering Concept present their second album Savages, a dystopian concept album of dissonance, ferocity and discomfort, with a powerful message." FFO: After The Burial, Sikth, Wrvth
What I Like: The Dali Thundering Concept often take the same infectious approach to songwriting as After The Burial, which is particularly apparent when listening to the djenty grooves and harmonics of "The Myth of Happiness." The guitars and drums are both highly accessible and impressively technical, drawing on plenty of other popular influences. For instance, the heavily detuned opening of "There is No Calm Before the Storm" reminds me of Periphery's "Hell Below" while also pulling in plenty of Meshuggah and Sikth-sounding riffs. And while vocalist Sylvain often sounds a lot like Anthony Notarmaso, he also takes a few detours into truly brutal, downtempo breakdowns ("Ink").
These elements alone would have been enough to leave me ruthlessly addicted to this album, but Savages also throws a few curveballs to keep things interesting. This is first apparent with the strange, atmospheric, electronic journey that is "Cassandra," but evolves much more later on. In the second half, TDTC show their roots in jazz, both mixing the style into heavier compositions ("Utopia") and also going full Whiplash on "Demeter," complete with "Fire Walk With Me" muted trumpet before unleashing the full ensemble. We may have been inundated in the past few years with saxophone collaborationes, but TDTC take it to another tier entirely..
Critiques: Some of the lyrics and political messaging come off as a bit cliche, but it was rarely to the point that it distracted from the music. Pretty typical stuff for a young, hungry metalcore band.
The Verdict: Savages is a unique and interesting take on progressive metalcore that smartly combines accessible, familiar elements from the djent scene with an innovative second act that throws the rulebook out of the window. The structure of this release is sure to expand people's musical boundaries while solidifying The Dali Thundering Concept as a force to be reckoned with.
Flight's Fav's: Ink, The Myth of Happiness, Flying with the Sheperds
- Review by FlightOfIcarus
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