Delyria - III: Oracles And Tentacles
Delyria hail from Italy and “Oracles And Tentacles” is their third full length album. Rooted in a mix of Death and Thrash Metal, one can expect a mix of Legion of the Damned meets Vader, with more lean towards the Death Metal side of things. Since their last album, the band has had quite an overhaul with new members, leaving Fabio Barbetti on guitars as one of the sole original members, next to Kyle Mencucci on drums who joined in right around the time “Sulphurous Extinction” back in 2016. A few years later, they added in vocalist Snyder from Blackened Death band Promaetheus Unbound, Dario Capitani on bass, and Franco Piras on guitar as well. The result for their album is a little less melodic than “Sulphurous…”, but nonetheless still ferocious. The core sound is still there, but enhanced. It seems louder, meaner, and a bit thrashier than before.
‘The Glyph’ kicks things off with the typical expectation of Delyria at this point: churning guitars, throaty snarls, and pounding drums. Definitely more Legion of the Damned than Vader, but the overall sound seems crisper and cleaner than before, but still not overproduced. New vocalist Snyder seems to be a bit more layered on his vocals, lending a bit of that Black Metal styled snarl from his other project, but it doesn’t detract from the guitars, drums, or bass. While lack of acoustic and subtle Melodeath touches are gone, one can still appreciate the groove of the music and the anthemic pound of the chorus, even though the guitars do have a somewhat annoying whine to them. Other tracks like ‘Republic of the Obscene’ are more Thrash rooted and have that aggressive stomp to them, but this one is by far one of the catchiest songs that Delyria have done with little room for error. For those looking for a more Thrash driven track with interesting vocals (like those underwater gurgles) and a bit more melody to it, ‘Gazmasked Reaper’ is a good choice even though the pace seems a bit slower and the aggression turned down mostly, it still hits hard showing more evolution for Delyria.
Ultimately, fans will notice a difference for “Oracles And Tentacles” and its step in the right direction. The levels of Death Metal and Thrash Metal seem more balanced, and while the band doesn’t quite break any new ground, they seem right on track to where they were headed in the first place. While some fans may feel they lost their melodic edge in the last 7 years or so, one can also argue the additional new members have smoothed out the rough edges for the group and made it whole. One has their choice of stomping Death Metal while others can enjoy the groove of Thrash, whereas before on earlier albums the music seemed to lean a bit more towards the Death Metal side with some Thrash and other melodic influences, be it acoustic sections or almost At the Gates tinged riffs, but here it seems Delyria has shed those for a more streamlined output. “Oracles…” is a good sign of what is to come for them, and hopefully Delyria can stay steady enough for the next album to continue to stay rooted in the Death Thrash genre.
3 / 5 STARS