Style: Progressive Metalcore, Progressive Deathcore (Mixed vocals)
Review by: Mathis
Country: France
Release date: 28 January, 2022
French progressive metalcore band The Dali Thundering Concept (TDTC) released their third full length album back in late January, and it’s freaking sick. All Mighty Men – Drifting through a Prosthetic Era is easily TDTC’s best release yet, which really caught me off guard because I don’t care for the rest of their discography. This album is honestly pretty stellar and is one of my favorites of the year as of mid April, but as I write this review I’m finding that there is more than meets the eye with All Mighty Men.
All Mighty Men is not super unique when compared to some of the really out there progressive metalcore/deathcore albums; TDTC uses tried and true tropes and styles, but they employ them in more creative ways. Unlike more experimental bands that may push the envelope too far, TDTC uses what listeners already know and love and add to or alter those elements to create a more refreshing sound. They are basically tweaking a recipe slightly in an unexpected way, in the end you still get the intended meal.
I have been familiar with TDTC for a while now, I saw them pop up on promotional djent YouTube channels from time to time. Everyone that knew of them liked them except for me, but that has changed. When I heard the first track on All Mighty Men I could tell there was a big shift in style from their prior albums. This time around they have adopted some nu-metal elements, and don’t seem to be going for a sound quite as heavy as before. It seems like they are more serious with their storytelling on All Mighty Men as well. “God is Dead” has a very surreal sound to it. It has a futuristic vibe with all of the synthy stuff going on, but it feels very tribal too because of the drumming and chants that accompany the sudden chugs. It’s a pretty neat intro song and actually got me excited for the rest of the album, and as a bonus it isn’t purely instrumental. It feels like a full track that is short and sweet.
Track two is amazing. I have to take a minute here to praise “Long Live Man”, the second song on All Mighty Men. “Long Live Man” starts slowly with spoken lyrics that are sort of a mix of dialogue and rap, then it explodes into a dense forest of nu metal-esque riffage and super emotional screams. It’s heavy, but feels very sincere and tender at the same time. This emotion is short lived though because it’s overshadowed by the grooviest bumping dance beat that instantly sucked up all my attention. This section of the song is the epitome of the “Try not to headbang challenge Pt.4 (Metalcore Edition)” videos on TikTok and Youtube. If you aren’t banging your head, then you’re doing a Tobey Maguire pelvic thrust. There is no resisting the groove. Next are some Erra style riffs, and eventually the song comes to a close as the violins join in to contrast the DJ0nt.
There are two or three other songs I absolutely loved from this album, but I want to say that every full track on this album is top-notch. “As the Sirens Call”, “Enter the Limbo”, and “Candid Monster” are all sick, but I don’t think they are as strong as some of the others. With that said I do think there is a slight imbalance in the song order. The first half of All Mighty Men is slightly better than the second, but overall TDTC killed it this time around. I am pretty sure the album is arranged in a specific order though, so I don’t think they could have rearranged anything.
I listened to All Mighty Men a few times before starting my review, and decided to do some research as well. I watched some music videos and tried to get a good idea of the album’s goal. I highly recommend watching every music video by the way; they are stylized, artistic, and intentional. Anyways, during my research I discovered something very unnerving. Upon this discovery one word flashed in my mind… “Corelia”. TDTC have decided to become a crowdfunded project, with tier levels, rewards, and all. IT’S A SCAM! Oh sorry, I have been traumatized by Corelia’s false promises. There is a chance TDTC’s The Dali Thundering Conclave (TDTC’s exclusive club) could be super legit. They are offering exclusive videos, merch, and information to their members. There is even a video game featuring two tracks from the album in it. I played it, it is free to all, but it’s not much fun. More of an experience than a game, but worth checking out. I figured I should mention this project associated with the album, but I have digressed.
All Mighty Men is an exceptional album, and I was almost constantly intrigued by it (there was one boring interlude). This is one of my favorite, if not my actual favorite progressive metalcore/deathcore release in years. Just be weary about their club, they seem super passionate and legit though so I am sure it’s fine!
Recommended tracks: Long Live Man, The Sea Starts Here, Serenading Silence
Recommended for fans of: Erra, Northlane, Novelists FR
You may also like: Krosis, Kadinja
Final verdict: 9/10
Related links: Bandcamp | Spotify | YouTube | Facebook | Instagram
Label: Independent
The Dali Thundering Concept is:
– Sylvain Connier (vocals)
– Leo Natale (guitars)
– Antoine Caracci (bass)
– Guillaume Plancke (drums)
1 Comment
Cae · June 24, 2022 at 00:34
The album is most definitely arranged in a certain order. I feel like the lyrics may have been lost on you or you didn’t care to look up the what they meant. While you have praised this album I think you still somehow overlooked just how intentionally different this album is. It’s not tried and true anything. It dips it’s fingers through so many genres throughout the story and never really settles on metal, but merely uses metal as a starting point. It’s a beautiful work of art. Very much one of the best of the year. It has found a home within my own personal top 10, ever.