Brazilian duo Self-Deceiver have delivered a superb seven-song sonic treat!
Across The Styx is f$&@ing fantastic!
How else do I describe this? There are thousands of bands to try listen to in one’s lifetime, so needless to say you end up spending a lot of time sifting through rubbish. Then this gets handed to you on a silver platter (thank you Oleks) and the more I listen to it the more I realise that this is how melodic death metal should sound. The combination of sometimes sinister, sad and twisted melodies on display here should be the benchmark for this sub-genre. Some may argue that this is leaning more towards death metal, I however don’t see it, and even if we disagree on this band’s categorisation, it would be safe to say that they have delivered here! Big time! And in both genres.
The funny thing is that there are a couple of times on this release where they have sounded a little Polish and Viking (you know to whom I refer), but, whilst I think their Polish and Viking counterparts have become stale and obvious, Self-Deceiver have delivered enough variation and quality on Across The Styx for one to overlook it, and more importantly, to appreciate it!
The variation in song structures, the excellent vocals (which I always keep banging on about) the musicianship, the guitar tone…man that guitar tone, the songwriting, and of course the production is all just fantastic! It all works, and it all works well!
There is no way I can keep elaborating on how good this album is, and apart from wanting to keep my reviews short and sweet, I will conclude with this…
Jorge Oliveros and Sergio Chaparro of Self-Deceiver are two incredibly talented and determined individuals who have delivered an absolute gem here that will hopefully get all the recognition it deserves! Kudos to you guys, and thank you for showing the rest of the melodic death metal world how it should be done!
Til next time!
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