Aletheian - Dying Vine Review
Posted by Dan Marsicano on 05.29.2008
Christian technical death metal band Aletheian has re-issued their 2005 sophomore effort with a bonus track and a clearer mix. Is the re-release worthy of a purchase for death metal fans and Aletheian fans alike?
The Band
Joel Thorpe-Harsh Vocals
Alex Kenis-Guitar, Bass, Keyboard, Clean Vocals
Donny Swigart-Guitar
Joe Walmer-Drums
The Track Listing
1. Paragon-4:34
2. Broken Legacy-3:17
3. Out From The Shadows-4:04
4. As The Fall Breaks-4:46
5. An Open Grave-4:07
6. Shepherd’s Fold-3:10
7. The Dividing Line-3:04
8. Call To Arms-5:28
9 Burnt Offerings-3:57
10. How Could I-4:49
The Review
Christian death metal. It’s an underground genre that most death metal fans don’t want to acknowledge, but it has been around since the early 90’s, with Australia’s Mortification being the first widely recognized Christian death metal band. One of the popular modern Christian death metal bands is Becoming The Archetype, which has been known to incorporate progressive elements into their music as well. One of the guitarists in the band, Alex Kenis, is involved with another band, Aletheian. Aletheian has a very similar sound to Becoming The Archetype. The band just re-issued their second album Dying Vine with an extra track added on and improved production.
Aletheian was formed in 1997, under the name Crutch, before changing their name after 2001’s …Hope Leaves. Aletheian has been on a bit of a hiatus, while Alex is involved with Becoming The Archetype, and the record company, Ironclad Records, decided to re-release Dying Vine, which came out originally in 2005. The album is technically sound, and the duo of Kenis and Swigart bring a lot to the table, but Dying Vine suffers from minor flaws that hurt what could have been an outstanding death metal album.
The band’s first album, 2003’s Apolutrosis, was based in progressive metal, with death metal overtones. The band used extended instrumental passages, clean vocals, and a heavy use of keyboards. The highlight of that album was the nine minute closer “Benediction”, which included the use of piano and an interlude that sounds like it could have been written during the Renaissance. Dying Vine strips the band’s sound down to its very core, leaning the sound more towards technical death metal.
“Paragon” is an accurate representation of the band’s musical direction in Dying Vine. There is a brief melodic section, and even some clean vocals buried deep in the mix, but the sound is straight death metal, with Thorpe barking and growling deep poetry that has to do with the creation of man. The band continues with the quick blasts of death metal in “Broken Legacy” and “Shepherd’s Fold.”
The progressive metal elements sneak their way into the band’s sound, especially during the middle of the album, when the band adds in more acoustic guitar and keyboard sections, as they do in “An Open Grave” and “The Dividing Line”. These melodic sections are placed perfectly in the music, without sounding like they were randomly placed there to make themselves more “progressive” like some bands have a tendency to do.
The band added in a bonus track, a cover of a classic Cynic song, “How Could I.” For those unaware, Cynic is a technical death metal/fusion band that used everything from guitar synthesizers to electronic drums to achieve a unique sound. “How Could I” is from the band’s only album, 1993’s Focus. The band does an inspired job on the cover, with Alex Kenis providing a guitar solo that is a bit different from the original and solid clean vocals to boot.
The band is definitely adept musically. Kenis and Swigart are an underrated guitar duo, trading riffs off each other seamlessly. Kenis is a talented musician, judging by the fact that he also does all the bass work, the keyboards, acoustic guitar, and clean vocals on Dying Vine. Joe Walmer puts in an inspired performance on the drums, with a good sound and some nice fills planted throughout the album.
Vocalist Joel Thorpe is the weak point of the band. His vocals are standard death metal fare, with no real variety to speak off, which can make his vocals tiresome by the end of the album. Kenis has a hell of a range on him, but it’s hard to determine that by the fact that the production seems to drown out his clean vocals for much of Dying Vine. I haven’t heard the original mix, so I don’t know if they were drowned out in the original too, but it’s a shame that they are only clearly heard on the cover track.
Dying Vine is a case of a band stripping their sound down a bit with mixed results. The vocals can get repetitive and the songs could have benefited from being a bit longer, but the talent of the band can’t be denied. It’s interesting to see where it all started for Kenis as a guitarist before successfully integrating himself into Beyond The Archetype. While not an instant classic, Dying Vine has enough great musical moments to at least warrant a listen from fans of death metal. Don’t let the fact that they are a Christian death metal band throw you off. Aletheian doesn’t shove their faith in your face and unless I told you, you probably wouldn’t know they were a Christian band at all.
The 411: Dying Vine is an album that will appeal to fans of technical death metal that don't mind a bit of a progressive edge to it and a Christian theme. If you already have the album, there really isn't any reason to pick it up again, unless you love bonus tracks or want a clearer production. I hope that Aletheian can get to work on their follow up sometime soon, but with Kenis's role in Becoming The Archetype becoming a full time job, new material might be a while away. While the band is reportedly working on new material, nothing has been confirmed yet. Until then, Dying Vine should tide you over.
