There’s an unmistakeable Scandinavian melodic Death/Thrash Metal sound about this album. Whilst “XI Reasons to See” does have a Scandinavian connection in that it was recorded at the Hansen studio in Denmark, Destinity are in fact French. This is their 7th album since 1999, after starting out as a Black Metal band. With such experience, it’s not surprising that the musicianship on this album is tight.
After a slightly incongruous symphonic opening in the context of the rest of it, we’re launched into “Just Before ..”It’s thrashy, aggressive, fast, melodic and catchy. The chorus has the urgent darkness and hooky lines of Hypocrisy. So far, so good. Assault and battery then precedes a furious onslaught on “A Dead Silence”. The guitar goes round and round, while we hear the sounds of Death growling. It’s lively enough but my senses are not being touched. Here is the problem. The only tracks which fired my imagination after “Just Before ..” were “Rule of the Rope” and “Got Smile Sticking”. Both have the punishing and dark tones of Hypocrisy and the associated ponderous pace and delivery. The sound is big, thunderous and effective. As for the rest of it, there’s plenty of aggression, melody and thrashiness but there’s no edge. “Witness” and “Your Demonic Defense” are both robust Death/Thrash outings but they fail to hit the heights. In fact it’s all a bit of a mess. By the tenth track “Self Lies Addiction”, the drummer is still bashing away at 100mph and there’s still plenty of aggression being unleashed out there but in spite of the band’s attempts to raise the ante, it’s another weak and unfathomable song which barely gets out of neutral. It’s frustrating because there’s plenty of good technique on display but for the most part it doesn’t hang together. The album ends well at least with a nicely introduced symphonic section on “Silent Warfare”. Meanwhile the guitars raise the tempo.
After a promising start, “Xi Reasons to See” was a disappointment. It’s interesting that on their site, undue attention is given to naming the bands that Destinity have supported rather than stating what they represent. This is what they should be concentrating on. They clearly have the musical ability. On this showing they’re not exploiting it.
http://www.myspace.com/destinity
http://www.lifeforcerecords.com
