Entry 1552 - Fleshgod Apocalypse - Labyrinth

Style: symphonic death metal

Primary Emotions/Themes: mythology

Thoughts: I had all but given up on this band. I loved Oracles to the point where I played it nearly non stop for a month. Something changed with Agony though. The band seemed to lose its ability to create actual riffs. Instead they let the orchestra do all of the heavy lifting, and the guitars had minimal purpose other than laying down a foundation for the music. I heard somewhere that Agony was best described as orchestra with blast beats and I fully agree with that assessment.  

I was more than cautious when Labyrinth got announced. I was worried that it would be just another orchestra and drums album, by the time Kingborn was about half way through on my first listen I knew that this would not be the case.

Labyrinth is the natural fusion of Oracles and Agony. It has much of the technicality and excellent riffing that Oracles had and mixes it with the incredibly intricate orchestral elements of Agony. It's everything I could have possibly hoped for from the band.

First things first, there is a LOT going on in this release. Every song has layer upon layer of guitars, vocals (harsh, clean, and soprano), orchestrations, piano, choirs, and seemingly endless other elements thrown in. This was also the case with much of Agony, but there are a few fundamental differences here. 

The band has re-learned how to write riffs. The guitars are alive again! They still act as the base for the entire construct but they are no longer just strumming a single note or chord as fast as they can. There is dynamics here that were not present previously (except for maybe The Violation). 

There is also a much greater variety in pace for these songs. Sure there's the blast fest that you would expect, but much of the album is slower and more brooding. This allows the orchestra and riffs to breathe and be more bombastic when called for. If nothing else it's certainly a much more diverse album than the previous outing. 

I've compared this album almost exclusively to Agony and that's with good cause. I cannot overstate how disappointed I was in the previous album. Labyrinth fixed every single flaw that I could find Agony and expanded on the bands sound in both the metal and orchestral fields. 

This feels like the proper follow up to Oracles. This feels like the band tapping into their true potential. This is Fleshgod Apocalypse at their finest.