Review: Astringency - Sanguinarium: Revisited (2022)
Astringency is a technical death metal band that formed in 2018 at Plainview, Texas. This band return with new record is called Sanguinarium: Revisited that was released on May 6th, 2022. Sanguinarium: Revisited is the new version of their debut album that released on 2017.
The album begins with Consummation, which opens with a romantic and melancholic introduction of piano and guitar playing, before exploding with eerie energy, bringing the rage to be channeled into a burst of blazing death metal, where we'll be bombarded by catchy guitar riffs with its heady rhythms, then the snaking guitar solo takes on the role to hypnotizing us with its intricacies of tone and bringing us to Emperors of the Black Cloth, a song that opens with incredible bass performances and fiery guitar playing that oozes unstoppable fury, they caught my attention with its enchanting melodies overlaid by a dramatic synth, then a captivating guitar solo emerged to pamper us with the beauty of its tones that executed with an intoxicating rhythm, before The Prekarus comes to stab us with sharp technicality and a menacing melody that strung together through a straightforward and catchy guitar riff along with solid vocals and attractive drums, it's a short composition but its charm is truly amazing, then Of Adoration and Efferevescence hit with heavy and aggressive compositions, they attack us with a series of fast, complicated, and sharp guitar riffs that take turns slaughtering and tearing us mercilessly on top of their ruthless technicality, but besides the ferocity of this track, we will also be spoiled with a dazzling and invigorating guitar solo parades until the end, before Sanguine Departure comes to bring a mysterious tone and give us a moment to breathe between the ferocity and cruelty of the music which they perform.
The album continues with In Ethereal Sorrow, a track that has an insanely intoxicating rhythm that composed with a series of intricate and catchy guitar riffs, fierce vocals, heavy bass, and energetic drums. In this song, they also feature female guest vocals Maddie Ufford, who gives its vocal softness a little to dampen the ferocity of this track, then Elixir strikes us with a fast and sharp technicality that fuses with a cruel melody to form a deadly dish. They try to play varying tempos on this track but don't let down the aggressiveness that has been built from the start, until the astonishing guitar solo arrive to hypnotize us with the beauty of its twisting tone, then Ravaging the Dell comes offering a more grim and threatening cruelty, where they mercilessly torture us with horrific complexity and velocity through a barrage of incisive and dense guitar riffs with a very tight and heavy musical structure, before Gates of Eternity resumes its aggression with an unstoppable and terrifying threat, where on this track they present an exciting melody with a captivating rhythm and enjoying groove, followed by Sanctum of Serpents, a track that has a tight texture and high aggressiveness, we will feel it when they are able to fuse velocity, complexity, and beauty into a composition that is so invigorating and captivates us until the end, while the astonishing guitar solo is present to evoke a memorable and truly impressive moment through its charming melody.
The show continued with Equanimity, a track that was originally a track that had a length of about 18.45 minutes, but in this album the track is divided into three parts, starting with Equanimity I which brings serenity to the intro, this provides an opportunity for listeners to take a deep breath and rearrange our minds through a series of melancholic and romantic notes before the music explodes with blazing melodies and rapturous beats, then Equanimity II comes with a fun rhythm and overwhelming aggressiveness, where we will be spoiled with amazing and enchanting guitar solos to more melancholic parts, we are completely immersed in the cradle they create with a stunning melody, and we meet the last part of the track with Equanimity III, a composition that is more touching heart and provoke a deep emotion through a series of perfect instrumentation that creates melancholy and romantic notes. It's a track show that grabs our attention with extraordinary and excellent instrumentation presentations. The album closes with Demise, My Reluctant Companion, a bonus track that is specially presented on this album. It's a song that has a heavy and dense structure with an intoxicating rhythm, this track moves at a varied tempo and a captivating melody, before slowly dissipating at a dramatic end.
Sanguinarium: Revisited is the new and menacing version of their debut album, which this time is presented in a more captivating and invigorating way. This album presents the perfect combination of sharp technicality and menacing melody, where they are able to weave a velocity, complexity, and beauty with melancholy, romantic, and dramatic tones into an extraordinary show. The sound selection is more promising with an excellent production. This is an album that has a unique and varied tempo, rhythm, and plot that is executed with high aggressiveness that capable of evoking deep emotions with blazing and overflowing rage and cruelty.