Style: symphonic deathcore, technical death metal (harsh vocals)
Recommended for fans of: Lorna Shore, Worm Shephard, Shadow of Intent
Country: Minnesota, United States
Release date: 3 May 2024
After Worm Shephard’s The Sleeping Sun was released in 2023 I truly thought that the genre of symphonic deathcore had found its crown jewel. Sure, Lorna Shore’s Pain Remains from the year prior gleamed brightly, but The Sleeping Sun delivered in spades the level of heaviness, grandeur, and bombast that the genre had been building towards for years. Like most deathcore releases, I eventually grew tired of The Sleeping Sun after a few months; perhaps I simply spun it too much, or perhaps, as I would come to learn, The Sleeping Sun was not the best symphonic deathcore had on offer. Enter genre greenhorns Synestia & Disembodied Tyrant.
Each with their own back catalogues of singles and full releases, the two man Synestia and one man Disembodied Tyrant each had pieces of the puzzle that eventually became the collaborative EP The Poetic Edda. Combining the symphonic bent of Synestia’s previous work with the sheer brutality and clever production skills of Disembodied Tyrant created a product so addictive that the DEA may as well list it as a schedule I substance. Across its four tracks, The Poetic Edda delivers pure unadulterated deathcore fun.
The EP begins with “Death Empress,” a stellar opening that clears the path for all to follow with its crystalline symphonic production and absolutely face-melting lead guitar tone. The track weaves its way through all the stylings of modern deathcore with ease and eventually climaxes with what very well may be the best breakdown of the year thanks to its clever use of synthesized symphonic elements and other various production trickery. Yes, the string sections and choral elements are synthesized—this is an underground deathcore band we’re talking about—but at no point did I feel that the synthesized elements detracted from the final product. If anything, it opened the release up to more creative expression as it was no longer limited by physical possibility.
“I, The Devourer” scales much of the same terrain as its predecessor, taking the listener through barked verses, symphonic segues, and catchy buildups. It also features one of my favorite moments from the EP where, at its halfway point, the track breaks into a metalcore-tinged riff that propels the song straight into the solo, another track highlight. Employing a style somewhere between that of Rings of Saturn and Lorna Shore, the leadwork in combination with the machine gun fire riffage beneath it combine to create something that could only be a product of the modern music age: utterly pristine and shimmering, yet addictive and just plain fun to listen to.
The EP’s title track sounds a lot like the previous two tracks, and it is usually here in my listen-throughs where the release’s few flaws start to show. Like a lot of deathcore, The Poetic Edda only has a few truly solid ideas and it kinda beats them to death. Yes, each breakdown rips, but you can only listen to so many rhythmic escapades that sound as though they were composed via a series of elaborate dice rolls before things start to get a little tiresome. Yes, the lead guitar and violin sound amazing in unison, but you can’t do the same thing in back to back tracks, especially on a four track EP with so little time to deliver your point.
Thankfully, The Poetic Edda shakes off the dust with its final track, a reimagining of Vivaldi’s “Winter.” When I see The Poetic Edda referenced online, this track almost always gets the first mention and rightfully so. Even though you’ve heard all these melodies before (even if you don’t think you have, trust me), Synestia & Disembodied Tyrant are able to revitalize them with blast beats, breakdowns, and brutal barking vocals; the whole thing is just plain fun. The cover is so good in fact, that I hope both bands will be able to top it with later releases; we all know what happened to Alien Ant Farm. Thankfully, Disembodied Tyrant has already released the equally high quality The Tower: Part One which sees the one man band once again shedding the symphonicism for raw aggression, and I’m sure Synestia isn’t far behind with another release of their own. Regardless of the paths these bands take in the future, I just hope that they collaborate again because The Poetic Edda is too good to happen just once. It seems that symphonic deathcore has found its crown jewel, for now.
Recommended tracks: Death Empress, Winter
You may also like: Dragoncorpse, Vermilion Dawn
Final verdict: 8.5/10
Related links: Bandcamp: Synestia, Disembodied Tyrant | Spotify: Synestia, Disembodied Tyrant | Facebook: Synestia, Disembodied Tyrant | Instagram: Synestia, Disembodied Tyrant | Metal-Archives page: Synestia
Label: Independent
Synestia is:
– Sam Melchior (guitars, orchestrations)
– Ville Hokkanen (vocals)
Disembodied Tyrant is:
– Blake Mullens (vocals, guitars, orchestrations)
– Rene Gerbrandy (drums)
