Review: Parthian – Desolation of a Ceaseless Dawn

Style: Prog Metal, Melodeath, Tech Death, Metalcore (mixed vocals)
Recommended for fans of: Revocation, Between the Buried and Me, In Flames, At the Gates
Review by: Sabrina
Country: US-KS
Release date: 1 July. 2022

Anybody who’s spent time sorting through the crates, digging through the gutter, searching through the metal underground for good releases long enough knows that appearances can be deceiving. The album artwork of a grotesque, multi-eyed, eldritch gargantuan along with an album title such as Desolation of a Ceaseless Dawn convey prominent technical death metal connotations. And no offense, but the artwork in general, emphasizing the font, does not exactly scream “Album of the Year” material for me. However, there’s a certain quote about not judging based on appearances; it exists solely because we grow complacent to the usefulness of superficial judgment and it becomes relevant when we run into rarities. 

Speaking of rarities, this debut marks the official start of the career of Kansas trio, Parthian. Far from an ordinary tech death release, Desolation from a Ceaseless Dawn garners prominent influences from the 90s melodic death metal scene à la At the Gates and old In Flames, hints of 2000s metalcore similar to Killswitch Engage and new In Flames, occasional blackened elements via tremolo riffs, shrieks, and blast-beats, and a surprisingly lucid wealth of prog metal techniques inspired by Between the Buried and Me and a pinch of Opeth. Though there are traces of Revocation’s tech death style here, this album is such a fusion of different genres that one couldn’t give this one label without gross oversimplification. Metalcore fans might find the extreme elements too harsh; death metal elitists will be put off by the choruses and eclectic interludes; therefore, this album is best fit for progressive metal fans.

The tracks “Psychosis” and “Abhorrent Epiphany” both have tweaked versions of old carnival chord progressions. Sandwiched between dense death jams on the nearly-twelve-minute finale, “Call of the Void” has an unexpected surf-rock interlude that brought me back to my days of listening to Sleep Terror. The synth work on this album overall is also quite enjoyable, usually carrying a tone spooky enough to appropriately overlay their Lovecraftian concept album but campy enough not to disrupt an episode of Goosebumps. Maybe I’m a sucker for synth work but their incorporation here brings the totality of Parthian’s music to the next level in terms of depth and vibrancy.

That covers much of the flashy prog sounds; however, the album’s greatest strength is the diversity in the guitar work from Adam Faris. His style is pretty much all over the place, forming something similar to the technical/progressive/melodic guitar work of Allegaeon. Solid tech-y yet melodic riffs surround much of the meat of the album which gives off Revocation-esque and vague 90s melodeath overtones. The latter often manifests in low-tuned chugs similar to what At the Gates is known for; other times, intriguing nods to In Flames material leap forward like in the guitar solo five minutes into “The Accursed Tome” that induces memories of “Episode 666” from 1997. It’s not always apt to say that an acoustic bridge after a death metal section is inherently Opethian, but sometimes in this album, it makes me wonder if there is some influence of that here. These acoustic interludes often bend into soaring melodic guitar solos, convincingly like those from BTBAM’s Colors; these solos provide some of the climaxes that help songs that might have otherwise been forgotten stand out, like “Numinous”.

Compliments to the rhythm section are also needed. Jacky Patrick’s bass does not just replicate the rhythm guitar, and it proficiently aids the music’s “umph”. Segments where the lead guitar mellows into passive acoustics are where the drum and bass shine more. It’s not that they are necessarily better in those sections, but those are when their value is clearer to the listener. The drums from DJ Dixon employ an excellent variety of tempos, extreme techniques (double-bass kicks, blast beats, etc.), and prog fills when need be. Both instruments in the rhythm section spring the album’s dark energy forward in its dissonant climaxes; these segments contrast significantly well with the smoother and melodic passages that make this album balanced.

In the end, Desolation exceeded my initial expectations from a first-glance judgment, and I am happy I gave this a second chance. There is clear potential here from a standpoint of technical/songwriting proficiency and projected growth. The latter clause is because this debut blows their demo out of the water on all grounds with its creativity, coherency, mixing, and production. As far as I’m concerned, Parthian are welcome as an up-in-comer for the progressive death metal scene.

Recommended tracks: The Accursed Tome, Call of the Void, Psychosis, Cosmic Overture
You may also like: Aenimus, Luna’s Call, A Novelist
Final verdict: 7.5/10

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Label: Independent

Parthian is:
– Adam Faris (vocals, guitars, keyboards)
– Jacky Patrick (bass)
– D.J. Dixon (drums)