Seeing only seven songs on an album can feel a little short. Then you check out the track listing and realise you are in 7 songs of epic mastery from progressive blackened death metal band Brotthogg. Then it makes sense because you are in for a ride.
The album Epicinium, meaning aftermath in Latin, has a heavy sense of doom and dread dripping through the tracks. This is not a negative, in fact, it is quite atmospheric from the first track. When the Curtain Falls, you feel like you are being transported. The mood is heavy, but it makes the music soak in.
One thing about Brotthogg, though, is even though their music tends to give you that atmospheric heaviness that comes from black metal, they never neglect their melodic death metal influence. You do not get bogged down in the deep state of dread that can sometimes come with black metal because they know exactly when to add in those melodic death metal elements. Going between tracks like Forvitring and Vengeance highlights this dynamic in an excellent way, so it really does feel like you are going for a ride.
The band is incredible at marrying different metal elements, ensuring they are not pigeonholed into a particular genre. Unlike other bands who try to pull off this songwriting style, Brotthogg does not lose their heaviness or brutality. They can carve a sense of adventure and exciting riffs like power metal without the campiness. They can tap into the solemness of black metal without losing the melody and production that comes with melodic death metal. They can tap into thrash and speed elements without it divulging into too much, too fast. They take the progressive metal elements they need without the pretension. That is the beauty of this band, and this album highlights their skill stupendously.
Epicinium is a hard album to categorise, but in that, it becomes a release that will surely become a favourite by those who love their more brutal styles of metal. The drums are heavy, the guitars switch between catchy melodies and solos to straight driving, the bass is full and rich, and one of the real treats is just how consistent the vocals are. There doesn’t need to be any wild flips between vocal styles, they suit the music constantly and that is more than enough to make it a great release.
Brotthogg: Facebook
Release Year: 2021
Label: self-released
Category: Album
Country: Norway
Reviewed by Kayla Hamilton
