Style: progressive death metal (mixed vocals)
Recommended for fans of: Black Crown Initiate, Allegaeon, Between the Buried and Me, Rivers of Nihil
Country: Reading, Pennsylvania, United States
Release date: 23 January 2025
What the hell is in the water in Reading, Pennsylvania? I mean, seriously, what is it? For a city with a population just under 100,000 to birth bands like Rivers of Nihil, Black Crown Initiate, and Burial in the Sky, there must be something utterly radioactive in the well. And although I haven’t found its source yet, I know that whenever I see a Reading release pop up on my radar, I’m in for some sweet, sweet prog death. Reading’s most recent output is from the newly formed Subterranean Lava Dragon, and although the band is green, its members certainly aren’t.
Composed of members of Black Crown Initiate and Minarchist, Subterranean Lava Dragon employ a version of progressive death metal on their debut The Great Architect replete with all the modern stylings made popular by bands like Rivers of Nihil and Allegaeon. Tastefully symphonic instrumentals (“The Silent Kin,” “A Question of Eris”) and BTBAM-eque astonato based builds (“The Silent Kin,” “Bleed the Throne”) give way to chunky downtuned riffs just as often as they climax into more Opethian based chord work and grooves. The rhythm section, held down by Nick Shaw’s tasty bass and programmed drums, keeps things fresh, constantly shifting underneath repetitious riffage and guttural vocals courtesy of Connor McNamee that range from gnarly lows to shrill highs a la James Dorton, if you’ll forgive yet another BCI comparison.
Subterranean Lava Dragon do take steps on The Great Architect to distinguish them from their peers. For one, the clean vocals from Ethan McKenna—their production especially—are unique for the genre. Tastefully bare, they were at first off putting in their rawness when I heard them on “The Silent Kin,” but ultimately grew to be endearing. They shine particularly during tracks like “Of Ritual Matricide” and “Bleed the Throne” where their earnestness takes center stage in epic choruses and creates lasting motifs much like Andy Thomas in BCI or Tommy Giles on BTBAM’s Coma Ecliptic.
You may have noticed that I struggle to discuss The Great Architect without referencing other seminal bands in the genre—particularly Black Crown Initiate—and I’d argue that Subterranean Lava Dragon do little to truly distinguish themselves from those before them. Moments like the symphonic interludes and the well composed build ups do well to break the norm, but we always end up returning to a very familiar and very safe progressive death metal base. Perhaps it’s unfair to disparage bands for sounding similar when they share members, but I can’t help but feel that The Great Architect marks a stagnation in the evolution that Black Crown Initiate has displayed throughout their discography; it just ends up feeling like BCI but missing mastermind Andy Thomas. I’m sure that for staunchly entrenched fans of progressive death metal, The Great Architect will deliver all you need, but I just couldn’t shake the comparison from my mind.
Still, an inferior Black Crown Initiate is superior to most, and Subterranean Lava Dragon gets a lot right on The Great Architect. From the meaty riffs and epic choruses to the satisfyingly farty bass and stellar harshes, the debut from the Reading, PA newcomers is certainly a strong effort that I hope receives the respect it deserves and encourages the band to find their own identity on future releases.
Recommended tracks: Bleed the Throne
You may also like: Alustrium, Illyria, Dissocia, Exuvial, Rannoch
Final verdict: 7/10
Related links: Bandcamp | Spotify | Instagram | Metal-Archives page
Label: Independent
Subterranean Lava Dragon is:
– Nick “Nickbass” Shaw (bass, drum programming)
– Ethan McKenna (guitars, vocals)
– Connor McNamee (vocals)
