Band's List Progressive Death Vex (USA-1) Memorious

Memorious is Vex’ second album and a perplexing one as well. Having released their debut, Thanatopsis in 2010 also on Horror Pain Gore Death Productions, I must admit I missed that one and this is the first time I’ve ever heard of these guys. The funny thing though is that I would have never imagined that kind of band signed on HPGD. With the label’s previous releases like Coffins, Ex Dementia or Mental Funeral, I always associated the label with dirty Death Metal acts rather than more “experimental” bands like Vex are. My foundations have been shaken.

On HPGD’s website, you will find the album’s resume where it’s written that it eventually should appeal to fans of Absu, Stargazer, Aggaloch or (even) Amon Amarth. I’ll take their word for it but if I were to draw analogies with other bands more versed into Death Metal and whom I’m better acquainted with I’d go into another direction.

To me Vex develop atmospheres really close to the “Gothic Death n’ Roll” of early Furbowl, a band better known for having had Liiva in its ranks but that developed a very specific kind of Death Metal, very atypical from its other Swedish counterparts. Vex have almost the exact same guitars except the Death Metal identity was stronger in Furbowl than it is in the US band. Because sometimes Vex even verge on Coldwave and the very first notes of Memorious with track Terra Soar could come out of any early The Cure album. Probably some people with think more “Black Metal” in case they didn’t know better but just like late Isolation, and to a lesser extent Negative Plane, this sound doesn’t boast the essential qualities of Black Metal.

Another apt comparison could be found in both sound and the intricate songwriting with Folk Death Austrian legends Cadaverous Condition. In a similar fashion, Vex often have two faces, one shrouded with melancholy, and another displaying more violence as demonstrated in the alternating clean/guttural vocals or the clean/distorted guitars. A good case of schizophrenia called life.

Memorious, despite having an original take on Death Metal, will please people with an open-mind. If you think a band that plays anything different than Immolation or Incantation are no Death Metal acts, you should probably give up already. To people with more elaborate taste buds, this will be like an explosive flavor-fest. Provided you can take this all, Memorious is a good recommendation for anyone curious.