Adiant – Killing Dreams

Adiant
Killing Dreams
Black Sunset/MDD
November 19, 2021
Playing time: 36:38

Symphonic/Melodic Death Metal from Styria (Austria). That’s what Adiant from Graz are promising. The band was founded in autumn 2019, and then Corona came along. But that didn’t stop the quintet from recording the debut album “Killing Dreams”. The song lyrics contain serious topics, from environmental problems to mental illness. The album was produced at Readhead Studios. The songs were mastered at Audiophil. A word about the band name. Adiant comes from the old Celtic language and means something like “wish” or “desire”.

Before the first listen, I was more in the mood for hard stuff. When you think of Symphonic/Melodic Death, you think of names like Septicflesh (Greece), MaYaN (Netherlands) or Serenity In Murder (Japan). But not of such a clear as a bell soprano as singer Patricia Gschier celebrates on “Coronation”. Sure, her brother Felix contributes some growls, but they are mostly rather restrained and discreet. They only get a bit more intense later on. The guitars don’t offer any Death Metal harshness either. In the title song “Killing Dreams” they try to add a bit more Death attitude. But I’m going out on a limb, this is Melodic Symphonic Metal with occasional Death elements. Bass and drums have to take a back seat to the vocals. Speaking of vocals, I like Patricia’s voice very much. And it is right to put it in the foreground, but whether instruments and partly also the growls have to be sent into the background, I can’t say. In “Hiding Place” the singer can prove that she also feels comfortable in mezzo-soprano. More of that in the future, please. The guitars always sound powerful when Patricia has a break. So mostly at the beginning of the songs and later in some instrumental passages. You can find that in many songs, like “Give Us A Voice”, “Lighthearted” or also “Insatiable”. Of course, there is also a ballad on the album. In “Beloved Distance” the acoustic guitars dominate. Calm drumming and contemplative singing that almost approaches coloratura soprano make this one a highlight.

If I were to go by the announcement as Symphonic Death Metal, then “Killing Dreams” would have failed for sure. Only the record cover would really fit the genre. But that would not be fair to the musicians of Adiant. But if I concentrate on my genre classification as Symphonic/Melodic Metal, it looks much better. The songs are well done. The Styrians have produced a good debut. There is still room for improvement, but good musicians should be able to get more than they can out of themselves. The only thing the band and the record label should think about is the pigeonhole they want to put the music in.

Adiant – Coronation: https://youtu.be/LWqc4V5fCvE

Lineup:

Patricia Gschier – Vocals
Felix Gschier – Bass, Vocals
René Stoecklmair – Guitar
Lizzy Siebenhofer – Guitar
Marcus Kürzl – Drums

Track list:

• Coronation
• Killing Dreams
• Hiding Place
• Give Us A Voice
• Beloved Distance
• Lighthearted
• Burning Bridges
• Psychosis
• Insatiable
• Witches Dance