Forged from an eclectic mixing pot of Iron Maiden, Dream Theatre, Blind Guardian, Nevermore and a bucketload of youthful exuberance, Under Night’s Cover from Sydney delivers a progressive, operatic form of Heavy Metal you can still headbang to, equal parts melodic and crushing without either needing to be diluted to produce this exciting brand of Metal.
Under Night’s Cover closed out 2014 by releasing their debut recording, ‘The March of Avernus‘, a 5 track EP clocking in at 34 minutes, with songs ranging from 5 to 8 minutes. The band’s influences are on display here from Thrashy Speed metal to neo-classical, all wrapped up neatly in a progressive, Trad Metal package.
The March of Avernus is best characterised by its duelling guitar instrumentation, on-point super mechanical drumming, frenetic rhythmical basswork, and the driving forceful voice of frontman Johnny Guagliardo, who has a fitting natural baritone you wouldn’t expect from so young a guy. The drums often dominate the mix, powering in the foreground save when the guitars start shredding. Either way the layout tends to work well throughout the tracks, as it giving each member of the band space to breathe, even between the most furious technical sections, and give the listener more room to be caught up in the conveyed atmosphere.
In highlighting the tracks themselves, of particular note is the bombastic “Oubliette” a whirling technical number, lightning-fast, complete with old school gang vocals and is absolutely sick. The pulsing, balladic “Euphoric Desolation” demonstrates that even their softest material doesn’t feel like a departure from the others, and is not at all out of place. “Depraved” acts as something of a roller-coaster, with a number of tonal shifts going on while the twin guitars consistently shred away through the entire track, a glowing representation of their top-notch soloing skills. The combat-centric, “Yesterday… when the peace ended” gives a strong payoff to the momentum built by the EP intro and blasts off excellently with a well-conceived, veritable WW2 Eastern Front opera, probably the best showcase of Alasdair Belling’s drumming. From here, “Shadows in the Dark” gallops and soars along, weaving an atmosphere full of vigour to complement the passionate tone of the vocals.
Under Night’s Cover have delivered fantastically here, showing proficiency well beyond their years, delicately balancing harmonic, soaring choruses with ambitious lengthy instrumentation. At the same time, they manage to include all the good heavy metal elements that make this release something deserving of both fist-pumping raucousness and contemplative listens.
Most certainly a deserving first release that will assuredly launch this band above and beyond, highly recommended for any fans of Metal with melody, and should most certainly appeal to anyone who’s ever picked up a Maiden record.
Release Year: 2014
Label: self-released
Category: Album
Country: Australia
Reviewed by Jay
