Féleth - Depravity

Féleth bring a fresh ferocity to modern death metal with their debut “Depravity”. Drawing on a sound that mixes death metal and a bit of groove metal, fans of groups ranging from Deicide to Lamb of God will find this Norwegian group a pretty entertaining listen. Moving away from the typical brutal or deathcore tinged style that seems to populate most death metal bands when they aren’t trying to go the old school route, the music here features a lot of chugging, yet catchy riffs such as the opening of ‘Ember’ and churns right along with clear production so the bass, drums, and vocals can all be enjoyed without being impeded by the guitars. Vocally, the band uses a rough shouting style mixed some deeper growls, but right in the first minute one can tell these guys have something to offer beyond the standard norm. Hints of melodies mixed in the chugging suggest some thrash elements too which help with the overall groove of the track.

Other tracks like ‘Hollow Words’ and ‘Pestilence’ focus more on speed and just straightforward head banging riffs that are fast but lose the melody of the other tracks. These fall more in the typical death metal style and will certainly stir up the pit at shows. Those who really enjoy more groove oriented riffs and are fans of groups like Dew Scented will really enjoy ‘Ravenous’ whose thundering repetitive riffs are sure to stick in the head for quite some time. While they definitely sound like something right off of Deicide’s “Insineratehymn” album, Féleth layer their guitars for some pretty awesome melody versus just monotonous chugging, especially during the solos which do not feel overshadowed by some of thicker riffs. Tracks like ‘Arise’ are less forgiving on the solos and while heavier and more akin to Lamb of God’s style, the beauty of the guitar duo feels a bit lost.

‘Pale Tongue’ the one track that listeners may feel severely divided on. Pulling some guest vocals that are clean and way out of left field, Féleth present one of the most melodic tracks on the album halfway through. The style is very polarizing considering up to this point since the band has presented so much death metal fury without leaning towards more ‘progressive’ moments, but little things like this even if they feel out of place make Féleth stand out in a good way. It probably isn’t something that will be a staple on future work, but at least if one can say they felt bored by the whole album this will probably be the one track that they will remember. Not to say that “Depravity” doesn’t have their melodic side aside from the guitar solos. ‘Swan Song’ closes the album with some very memorable keyboard sounding riffs among the doomier tones and overall just a nice mix of melo death tinged music that is still head-bangable. Yet at the same time the last 2 tracks of the album delve into a much broader scope, making the earlier tracks feel a bit more on sided and may not garner as much attention save for the groove heavy ones.

“Depravity” is a pretty hefty mixed bag of styles. It isn’t as wild as progressive or avant garde death metal but uses a variety of vocal styles and riffs that are sure to keep listeners interested. While so many feel that death metal needs to be as brutal as possible, Féleth go the more groove laden route that makes their style a bit more unique versus those who try to copy Cannibal Corpse or Bloodbath and the result is pretty decent. This is certainly worth a listen for anyone who likes a modern style instrumental in metal with aggressive vocals that can still somewhat be understood and yet can still pull off a brutal sound.

3.5 / 5 STARS 

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1. Ember
2. Hollow Words
3. Ravenous
4. Arise
5. Dissolution
6. Pestilence
7. Pale Tongue
8. Swan Song


Self released
Reviewer: Colin McNamara
Jun 23, 2020

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