Valkyrian Music

Band: NOT ABOVE EVIL
Album: THE TRANSCENDENTAL SIGNIFIED
Release year: 2011
Genre: MELODIC DEATH/BLACK METAL

‘The Transcendental Signified’ is the second album from British melodic death metal band Not Above Evil.

The opening track ‘Crossroads’ features a very promising melodic intro proceeded by fast guitar riffs and black metal vocals similar to those of Dimmu Borgir or even old Agathodaimon. There is also a clear Lamb of God influence in the bass guitar riffs and drums structures in tracks such as ‘Capture the Dawn’.

‘Against The Tides’ is one of the best tracks on here with memorable guitar solos that allow you to look past the slightly cheesy sounding lyrics. The only major let down is the progressive intro to ‘Nexus’ which doesn’t seem to fit the style set by the rest of the album. I’m not quite sure what they were trying to achieve with this. Luckily that track does have certain redeeming features such as the guitar solos towards the end.

Another notable track is ‘As The Curtain Falls’ which continues where ‘Against The Tides’ left off with more memorable guitar riffs and solos that have enormous mosh-pit potential. The final track ‘The Duel’ seems like the perfect way to end this album with its deceptively slow and melodic intro that ensures the listener is all the more unprepared for the intensity of the remainder of the song.

Overall this is a very solid release.

4/5
Iza Raittila

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This entry was posted on 23rd November 2011 at 2:46 pm and is filed under Review with tags Death Metal, Dimmu Borgir, Melodic death metal, Not Above Evil, Skratch The Surface. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.