Age of Dysphoria
Vermocracy
From their EPK, "with "Age Of Dysphoria," the band consistently continues the path they have taken since their foundation and delivers an album that sets new standards in the band's history, both technically and compositionally. Aggressiveness paired with the necessary groove, playful melodies combined with powerful harshness and all that, despite a clear homage to Melodic Death Metal of the nineties..." The album has nine songs.
"Intro" is a short string song that leads to "Necocracy." The latter feature a galloping romp of drums, guitars and harsh vocals. The riffs are a little exploratory here and there, and with some harmonies, but are fairly standard. "World of Wounds" is similar in pacing and sound, but the bass work is decent. Besides that, however, the song is pretty flat and stale. "The Void's Embrace" also has some decent guitar work, but the lack of clean vocals has pigeon-holed them into one style, and the style has been done and redone many times over.
"Opposed Evolution" has a similar sound. So far, through half of the album, I am underwhelmed. This song is slower but the guitar work is nearly exactly the same in scope as other songs. "Grace of Hypnos" is another repetitive song, and this is growing tiring quickly. I am not even sure about what else to say at this point, but I will finish the review. "Perpetual Flood" is another song that sounds nearly interchangeable with the others. Consistent? Absolutely. But creative, no, not at all. "In Darkness Let Me Dwell" closes the album. Finally, a bit of a different approach, at least in the very beginning.
When it comes to the Melodic Death Metal genre, you need to do things to separate yourself from the pack. When the genre was first created, it was original and there were really only four bands in Sweden that was at the spearhead of the movement. Today, there are tens of thousands of bands and the genre has become overrun with clones. Unfortunately, there choice to follow a pre-made pattern and lack of diverse backing elements have done them in.
4 / 10
Nothing special
Songwriting
Musicianship
Memorability
Production
"Age of Dysphoria" Track-listing:
1. Intro
2. Necrocracy
3. World of Wounds
4. The Void's Embrace
5. Opposed Evolution
6. Grace of Hypnos
7. Perpetual Flood
8. The Pyre
9. In Darkness Let Me Dwell
Vermocracy Lineup:
Roman Kolesnik - Drums
Andreas Huber - Guitars
Morgane Rake - Guitars
Michael Frick - Vocals
Hannes Sandrini - Bass
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