Style: Technical death metal (harsh vocals)
Recommended for fans of: Necrophagist, Entheos, Obscura
Review by: Zach
Country: Australia
Release date: 21 October, 2022
I often speak about the ever-growing pseudo-eldritch primordial sewage pile of tech-death that gets released every year. But you know what? I can’t say I blame bands for wanting to be tech-death. Being in a tech-death band must be sick as hell. Imagine shredding at 400 bpm while all mortals in the crowd watch in awe of how fast you can play that diminished scale. There are so many riffs that are the perfect mix of challenging and fun to play that nailing them gives me more serotonin than any drug could.
Let’s take a band like First Fragment for example. By all accounts, they should be an awful, unlistenable band that’s going balls to the wall on all of their songs all the time with the rare moment to stop and let the songs breathe. But their riffs, structure, and technical prowess are basically unmatched in the scene right now. Those first two are what set them apart from the sewage. You can have all the technical prowess in the world and no good way to write that into a song, and with that, you churn out a mediocre album.
This is what makes Freedom of Fear claw straight out of the sewage pile, bursting forth into the upper echelon with a look of fiery determination in their eyes. Riffs. Song structure. They aren’t nearly as fast as some other bands I’ve heard this year, but they don’t want to be. They know that they don’t need a nearly 80-minute tech death album to leave their mark, because this band has incredible riffs and the confidence in their structure to make them work. And, mind you, they work oh so very well.
Freedom of Fear came on the scene back in 2019 with their first LP Nocturnal Gates, and while I gave it my fair share of listens, it was deemed a solid “good/10” and I moved on with my life. But within seconds of the opener to Carpathia, ‘Zenith’, it became clear to me just how much this band had improved in just a few years. Vocalist Jade Monserrat’s high screams sound absolutely bestial now, with her lows sounding like Omnivium-era Steffen Kummerer in the best way possible. Speaking of Obscura, the band has the Blast King Hannes Grossmann on drum duty, adding to an already insane lineup of musicians.
The double guitar virtuosity coming from Matt Walters and Dyssidia’s Corey Davis provide enough riffage to last a lifetime. They can go from Necrophagist-esque on ‘Zenith’ to slowing it down a bit in ‘Primordius’ and still keep that unique sound. They’ve got everything you could possibly want from a tech death band; diminished runs, dissonant arpeggios, and chugs a plenty. But their neoclassical solos are where they both shine. The intro riff of ‘Nebula’ was stuck in my head for a good day after I finished the album, and the breakdown that ensues placed it in the running for SOTY.
Speaking of the rhythm section, it’s always a plus when you can hear the bass, and Georgina Kittel’s higher-string harmonies give her plenty of time to shine throughout the album. Reminiscent of Tómarúm from earlier this year, each song has a plethora of tasteful weedly-weedlies for your listening pleasure. Having a bass player this insane buried under the mix would’ve significantly reduced my score, but she’s loud and clear for the whole album. V. Saturna’s skills show themselves once again, leaving room for every instrument to have its own space in the mix.
Above it all, Carpathia sits just shy of 40 minutes, leading to an infinitely replayable experience. Even the eight minute closer didn’t feel the slightest bit stretched, and ends the album out in epic fashion. So, where are my gripes? Despite how great this album is, it’s nothing that makes me say “I’ve never heard anything like this”. Rather, Freedom of Fear have perfectly honed and distilled their melodic-tech formula in a way that most bands should follow, especially regarding album length. Overall, an incredible journey of virtuosity that’ll surely please any tech-death fan.
Recommended tracks: Zenith, Primordius, Nebula
You may also like: Aethereus, Obsidious, Alkaloid
Final verdict: 8/10
Related links: Bandcamp | Spotify | Official Website | YouTube | Facebook | Instagram | Metal-Archives page
Label: EVP Recordings – Bandcamp | Facebook
Freedom of Fear is:
– Jade Monserrat (Vocals)
– Matt G. Walters (Guitars)
– Corey J. Davis (Guitars)
– Georgina Kittel (Bass)
– Hannes Grossmann (Drums)
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