[This submission has been channeled forth from a mysterious being once known as Peat. Its conjuring is almost complete, and its final form will emerge in time.]
Blackened melodeath band Everdying know a thing or two about it taking forever to get things done. They released their first EP in 2009 and are only now releasing their full-length debut, Dimensions of Mortal Frailty. That’s a long time for Johnny Dove, the man behind virtually everything here, to hone his vision. The listed touchstones for this project include early In Flames, God Dethroned, Naglfar, and Hypocrisy, which creates a clear expectation. It’s going to be loud, it’s going to be fast, and it’s going to be full of melodies.
Everdying deliver on that for better and for worse. They lean more towards the brutal side of their influences than the melodic, but there are just enough Gothenburg riffs to keep me satisfied. Dove tends toward tremolo melodies with a folky influence that do indeed remind me of In Flames, which fits in nicely with this abrasive take on melodeath. This is backed up by hoarse snarling, occasional synths, and a furious drum assault. Unfortunately, that assault is too much when coupled with a loud, thick production that frequently creates a wall of noise, burying the finer details on everything. This only increases the biggest problem here, which is that the songs all blur into each other. They share the same breakneck pace and approach with few distinguishing features. Songs rip along but rarely achieve a powerful sense of resolution. Towards the end of the album, Everdying show a slower and more melodic side with songs like “Hadean Return” and “Den Sista Solnedgången”, but that only teases at what could have been.
I keep listening in the hope there’s more. The universe knows melodeath could use more. The genre is seeing signs of a possible renaissance as bands inject fresh inspiration into the roots, but it desperately needs more leaders. There’s enough technical prowess, vision, and good melodies here to suggest Everdying could release a real humdinger of a snarling, high-paced melodeath album. Unfortunately the songwriting and breadth of invention shown here isn’t on the same level and as a result, Dimensions of Mortal Frailty is just too one-dimensional to stand out from the pack.
