I think I was a bit
hasty in my initial post. My excitement for the album got the better of
me and I don't think that my thoughts truly reflect why I enjoyed this
album to the extent that I do.
With Gloria Eternelle, First
Fragment have created a technical death metal album that distinguishes
itself through exceptional song writing, unexpected yet interesting
changes within the song structures, and a strong display of technical
prowess while still writing listenable songs.
The song writing
throughout the album really stands out because it never forgets one of
the most important things with music: is it listenable. The trap that so
many tech death bands fall into is this "more notes more better"
mentality. To my ears this just becomes a collection of notes and
technical demonstration while losing the essence of anything musical.
First
Fragment avoid this trap by keeping their technicality in check by
balancing it with melody and interesting interplay between the
instruments. Its one thing to play a lot of notes quickly - and First
Fragment excel at this - but its another thing all together to structure
them in such a way that it grabs your attention and draws you in.
Throughout
Gloria Eternelle, the band draws in influences from classical music and
Spanish flamenco guitar. The song writing is typically linear, with
sections rarely revisited. With the longer songs this takes the listener
on a musical journey rather than just a verse/chorus/repeat format.
There are surprises at every turn, just listen to the first two minutes
of the title track to get some sense of what is to come.
I'm
going to have to revisit this album a few more times to truly determine
if it is as good as my initial impressions, but as it sits now it has
certainly stood out in an extremely positive way.
Possible top ten album 2021
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