Medeia

"I had never heard of Medeia before listening to this album. I was quite puzzled by the label of "alternative death metal" that they are given on some metal sites, while others categorize them simply as "alternative metal".

Listening to this album, I can see where the death metal label comes from, as they play a form of death-thrash with harsh vocals and a number of metalcore/deathcore elements as well, but I fail to hear the alternative element altogether. Perhaps some of their earlier releases are more in an alternative metal vein, but this one is not.

Generally the compositions are heavy and groovy with plenty of references to modern groove thrash. The riffage ranges from quite simple groovy riffs and equally simple death metal tremolo riffs over mid tempo thrashy riffs to quite complex and technical riffs, and there are some mind-boggling rhythmic patterns as well (as in the title track). There are numerous epic and melodic pieces on the album, too, mostly provided by the atmospheric keyboards, and a track like "The Burning" is an all out epic Gothic doom metal track. I think that this is a quite well performed and well produced album with lots of heavy headbanging-inspiring elements, but I must admit that I think it could have benefited from more guitar solos.

If you like heavy death metal and do not mind a bit of deathcore (do not worry, there are not that many deathcore elements), then you might be interested in giving "Abandon All" a listen."