Review: Dvota – Antichiromantia

Style: Death Metal, Prog Metal, Groove Metal (Mixed vocals)
Review by: Cooper
Country: Slovakia
Release date: 24 June, 2022

Progressive death metal greenhorns Dvota just released their debut album Antichiromantia, and despite a few setbacks it delivers a powerful and engaging collection of songs sure to please fans of the genre.

Dvota defines the formula for their music from the get-go. The opener, “Tarot”, after a quick buildup of clean guitar and synthesizer, quickly comes to feature all the progressive death metal staples in the form of chunky guitars, double bass centric drums, and a bass tone sure to disrupt seismographs in a dozen mile radius. However, not all is par for the course in terms of genre norms. Where other bands would focus on technical skill and performance, Dvota instead sets their sights on creating atmosphere. The layers of guitar, the torrent of drums, and the occasional synthesizer all coalesce into a dense atmosphere that is never once muddy thanks to the quality production.

The second and third tracks, “N.M.B.” and “Kardioplegia” respectively, both follow a similar blueprint, but are engaging in their own right with “N.M.B.” doing its best Gojira impression during its climax and “Kardioplegia” featuring my favorite lead guitar work on the album. So far, my only complaint is with the vocals. Because I do not speak the Slovak language, I cannot critique the lyrics, and can only critique the vocal delivery, which unfortunately spends most of its time in a low to mid growl that becomes monotonous by the end of the album. I wish there were more moments on the album with clean singing, or with at least a different guttural approach, to add some more spice to different sections of the album.

My favorite track off the album is “oKKo”, which stands as a testament to everything Dvota is capable of achieving. The drums are relentless. The riffs provide instant satisfaction. On my first listen, when I expected the song to start winding down around the 4-minute mark as per the three previous songs, “oKKo” began a blues jam which only made the squall of blast beats that came after even heavier. “oKKo” takes the elements of what made the previous songs good and refines them into something great.

Unfortunately, the highs that Antichiromantia achieved on “oKKo” are short- lived as the next song, “Nebslog”, is my least favorite track. “Nebslog” follows the formula that was established on the first half of the record, but drops the ball in one major way. The riffs are simply not interesting, which proves fatal for my enjoyment in an album otherwise held together by engaging riffs. As I listened to the song I felt bored, the plodding mid-tempo riffage and meandering lead guitar washing over me but ultimately leaving me unaffected. Thankfully, Antichiromanita is able to redeem itself with its final two tracks. “Enfant Terrible” is a monster of a track, once again invoking the sound of Gojira, that features arguably the best climax of the album rivaled only by “N.M.B.”. Despite its fadeout ending, “Tyresta” concludes the album in a surprisingly beautiful way thanks to its use of spoken word, clean guitar, and ocean recordings.

Overall, Antichiromantia is an intriguing listen. Despite a modest run time of just over 36 minutes, it is able to pack in quite a lot of atmosphere and a staggering number of engaging riffs. When it was at its best, it gave me powerful, inventive progressive death metal. But at its worst, it gave me simple, derivative riffs and aimless lead work that ultimately left me feeling bored, the absolute last thing I want from my music. Thankfully, these moments are few and far between, and it was ultimately able to hold my attention all the way through. Despite maybe being a bit too comfortable within genre norms, Antichiromantia is certainly a good album. I hope that Dvota is able to harness the potential they display here on any future releases.

Recommended tracks: oKKo, N.M.B., Tyresta
Recommended for fans of: Gojira, Fit for an Autopsy, Slugdge
You may also like: Hath, Xehanort, Lysjakt
Final verdict: 7/10

Related links: Bandcamp | Spotify | YouTube | Instagram | Metal-Archives page

Label: Independent

Dvota is:
– Pekka (All Instruments & Lead Vocals)
– Lucas (All Instruments & Backing Vocals)