Review || Thy Art Is Murder - "Dear Desolation"

Thy Art Is Murder hammered another nail with this album. With a fierce combination of death metal-ish heavy riffs, fast, ferocious drumming and many subtle musical influences, they prove once again that they are at the top of their game and boldly pave the genre's direction *looks at teehee*

Similarly to their previous albums, their lyrics contain strong anti-religion themes, matched with some very rapid and aggressive riffs and their relentless raw sound. The album starts off with "Slaves Beyond Death". From the first second of the song, it's very clear that these Aussies have mastered their sound and ain't fucking around. And the Behemoth tremolo? Really good. Moving on to "Son of Misery", also one of the lead singles, where the band establishes their trademark sound and style combined with anti-religious lyrics. "Puppet Master", on the other hand, slightly leans towards a more death metal direction. On to the album's title and fourth song, "Dear Absolution", another perfect example of their good work; with its fast, aggressive and groovy rhythms that will have you headbanging unintentionally, I think it fits well the album's name, as it meets people expectations -and may even surpass them dare I say. "Death Dealer" starts with a slow pace but don't be fooled; there's no room for softness in a TAIM record. "Man Is The Enemy" follows and it really feels like a song that would best fit in 2012's album, "Hate". Classic Thy Art murderous deathcore, seamlessly blended with some of the new elements they introduced with this album (see the Behemoth tremolo above). Same thing for "The Skin Of The Serpent" which brilliantly intertwines intensity and a compelling melody but fall behind on the drumming, which at times sounds predictable monotonous and plain. I should be frank with the next couple of songs, "Fire In The Sky" and "Into The Chaos We Climb". I feel that the melodic but somewhat slow pace holds them back and doesn't fully allow them to develop and morph into the character of the album. For the ending track, "The Final Curtain", as the title suggests, is the best way to wrap up an album, with those thrilling riffs and the pummeling drums in the middle.

Before I knew it, the album was over; oh boy, these 38 minutes felt amazing. With "Dear Desolation", I gained new hope that deathcore is still in the right direction and I am happy that many of these songs are legit concert material. However, I believe the first half of the album was by far more satisfactory in terms of compositions and arrangements than the rest of the album, and overall more interesting, whereas the second half, especially "Man Is The Enemy", "Fire In The Sky" and "Into The Chaos We Climb" felt for the most part as if the band followed a similar writing pattern.
8/10

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