A New Name in Progressive Death Metal
by
MidnightOz
"Stone's Reach" is Be'lakor's 2nd full length album, coming only a couple of years after their debut LP - "A Frail Tide". Hailing from Australia, this 5 piece have created an epic progressive death metal opus with this album.
With a sound that's firmly planted in European Metal, and that also surpasses alot of it, they have made a melancholy-tinged, stunning album that isn't afraid to mix things up, almost to a fault, with melodic and rhythmic changes being a mainstay of most songs on the album, with the exception of the short instrumental, Husks.
One of the highlights is in particular the drumming, with it being measured and flowing, the use of the full drum kit to create texture behind the thundering riffs of the guitars and bass is a pleasure to hear. The guitars themselves are symbiotic, the rhythm guitars complementing the lead guitarist quite admirably. One aspect of Be'lakor's sound is that it isn't a headbang -fest, the band offering songs with musicality and restraint, rather then trying to hammer the listener with brutality or speed.
This aspect works tremendously well with the various progressive elements in the music, and the keyboardist - the band coming together to create songs that never tire or become dull, and that offer a wide palette of melody and sound. The vocals themselves are in a slightly gruff, lower pitched growl, they service the music well, but nothing more. One future progression for this band would probably be the inclusion of a clean vocalist, as some of the songs would of possibly been enhanced with a few touches of clear vocals, but it's a very minor gripe.
Comparisons are hard to come by - they have a sound that they've made their own, which is fantastic for a band this young - if one had to compare, Finland's Insomnium would be their closest counterparts, but they by no means are imitators or copycats. Be'lakor stand alone with this album, which any progressive or death metal fan would do well to get.
