Never mind the labels you sometimes read about a band.
Requiem Laus from Portugal have nothing really Black
Metal in their sound and Melodic
Death Metal would be rather more accurate. It is the Portuguese’ second album released in 2011 after their debut released three years earlier.
It’s always hard to review a band’s latest record when you don’t know the previous one but
As Long As Darkness Bleeds offers plenty of material to work from. While undeniably the melodic aspect of
Requiem Laus’ music may not be kept off, it is truly a good
Death Metal album first and foremost. Which means that the appeal to melody is used elegantly and only to serve the songs rather than decorate them.
In this respect,
Requiem Laus share many similarities with fellow countrymen
Theriomorphic except that their music sounds much darker and lean more on the Swedish scene of the genre where
Theriomorphic have more Heartwork-era
Carcass in their blood.
The addition of some classical guitars in a few tracks, on
Shadow’s Foul Scourge among others, is a nice plus and rendered efficiently. On top of that, Miguel Freitas' growls, the Cookie Monster type a la
Hooded Menace, are terrifying and create a sharp contrast with music that sometimes may well be mistaken for Heavy (heavier)
Metal.
This is some good album, but something tells me it may well be much better. Most of the songs are above (sometimes well above) the 5-minutes mark and it drags the album a bit making it sound redundant at times wasting precious efficiency. Would they shorten their tracks a bit, the overall result would have more punch and make for a better experience.
Still there’s really nothing wrong with
As Long As Darkness Bleeds but the band still has some room for improvement if they want to release something that will give them a chance to attract more fans. It’s good but it’s nowhere near being a must buy.
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