Vesuvian – Emergence

Vesuvian
Emergence
Out: April 9^th, 2023
Playing time: 40:23

Vesuvian hail from Seattle and were formed in 2015. Before that, they were on the road for about one year under the name Ocean of Obsession. The musicians have dedicated themselves to Symphonic Death Metal. Apparently, singer RJ Mitchell is the only remaining founding member. Two EPs and two singles have been released so far. Since April, you can listen to the debut full-length album “Emergence”.

The album starts with the title track “Emergence”. After a melodic orchestral intro dominated by piano sounds, the Americans go straight into the full swing. Aggressive riffs and even more aggressive and angry growls from RJ Mitchell can be heard. Later, Patrick Bradford contributes discreet clear vocals. Although, it’s not really clear, his voice sounds scratchy. The two are driven by the double bass. Again there is an orchestral introduction on “Seas Of Grey”. Strings can also be heard in the background during the drumming and the growls. With “Grief Drinkers” they power ahead thrash-like. Melodic Death Trash might be defined as a pigeonhole here. This is how it continues with “Sunless Dreams”, but here clear vocal passages can be heard again. On the other hand, “Architects Of Ruin I: Indoctrinate” almost seems a bit anthemic, also thanks to the distinct clear vocal passages and the strong guitar solo. Also “On Cursed Sands” sounds hymn-like in parts, with some nice melodic interjections. “For Those We Left Behind” then offers a mixture of Power and Death Metal. Choruses, orchestral elements and great melodies again give “Writing Folktales” an anthemic touch. Here you can enjoy the pleasant voice of keyboarder Laura Gonzalez. Thanks to the almost complete lack of Death Metal elements, this song doesn’t seem to fit in at all with the rest of the album. But it shows the diversity of the musicians’ musical abilities. The seven-minute closing song “In The Gallows At The Edge Of The World” starts ballad-like. Later, too, you can hear a lot of epic before the power goes off here, too. And again, and again the growls are counteracted by symphonic elements. With a strong progressive touch. For me the best song on the album.

Even if you don’t like Death Metal, you should definitely listen to “Emergence”. The musicians of Vesuvian manage the tightrope walk between evil Death Metal and Symphonic or Epic very well.

Vesuvian – On Cursed Sands: https://youtu.be/-IZZ4zpfLbA

Lineup:

RJ Mitchell – Lead Vocals
Patrick Bradford – Guitar, Bass, Drums, Vocals
Taylor Stone – Lead Guitar
Laura Gonzalez – Keys, Symphonics, Vocals
Jax Larken – Lead Guitar

Track list:

• Emergence
• Seas Of Grey
• Grief Drinkers
• Sunless Dreams
• Architects Of Ruin I: Indoctrinate
• On Cursed Sands
• For Those We Left Behind
• Writing Folktales
• In The Gallows At The Edge Of The World