Trauma, sorrow, grief and a chunk full of anguish, however, with a chin up to rise from asunder. Something very wrong happened in the last six years or so to the Italian Melodic Death Metal heroes, LAHMIA. Honestly, I didn't care to ask my longtime acquaintance, Flavio Gianello, the band's lead guitarist, yet, after absorbing what went through my ears following my listening sessions with their comeback album "Resilience", released via Scarlet Records, my interest was peaked.

Just to keep you guys in the loop, and without too much dwelling into it as I believe that I mentioned it once, or twice, my romance with LAHMIA began back in 2008 with their demo "Forget Every Sunrise", which was one of my first line of reviews. Four years later, LAHMIA signed to Bakerteam Records, I was obliterated by the magnitude of the debut "Into The Abyss", which to date, one of the best contemporary melodic Death Metal releases of the decade. And then, like a bolt from the blue, I got the word of "Resilience". Once I entered its realm, similar to the debut, it was hard to let go.

Let's talk technical details first, before I will swarm you with my emotions over this musical piece. I liked the studio work, production and mastering, of the debut somewhat better than in "Resilience". I don't know, this one sounded a bit overcrowded and stuffed, even if the direction in general was rather similar. Musically, LAHMIA moved on from the debut into the next in line, crafting their Death Metal to become a little challenging with the crucial factors in play such as dramatically flavored melancholic intensity. "Resilience" serves progression on a small platter, bearing contemporary styled melodic riffs neck to neck with uplifting aggression while enchanting with a few Gothic memorable elements hovering above, striking at will, letting the pain sink in. While listening, late 90s AMORPHIS / SENTENCED came to mind, embroiled in the later version of the Danish MERCENARY, a union that is nothing less than mesmerizing.

The bleak lengthy epos, "The Age of Treason", at first sent me back to "Into The Abyss", sharing blasting harmonious riffery, wicked energies and atmosphere that are a drug. As it developed, I noticed the steps the band made to attain such a creative level. And believe it or not, they didn't need to be ultimate technical wizards in order to reach that prolific altitude. The painful melodies and the crying out of the vocals pictured the true identity of this entire endeavor, revealing its decency, a kind that can't be ignored. "The Frayed Lines of Time" and the brutal bliss of "Existential Vastness", deliver an influential Finnish icy touch to the burning LAHMIA fire, maintaining the agonized melodies as prime alongside the masterfully written melodies that remained key to my prolonged interest.

Though "Into The Abyss" has been maintaining a special kind of magic with its straightforward vehemence and its vastness that are still undeniable, there comes "Resilience" with a look inwards into the soul. It searches for answers of how to deal with such bitterness and darkened emotions of loss and despair, digging deeper in order to find peace that might never be possible. LAHMIA didn't forget how to bash the mosh, but while doing so, they also provoked it enough to keep it in their grasp.

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