Astronomical Dimensions 2011

"Be warned, if you think the keyboards and symphonic elements have no place in death metal, The Bridal Processions is not for you, and you do not need to read any more of this review.

If you like your death metal to be arty and pompous, read on.

The Bridal Procession's music on this album is very varied modern semi-technical death metal. Although there may be some deathcore elements, I think that they are more death metal than deathcore. They draw on a lot of different styles of death metal, from the primitive riffage of early death metal over the blastbeats of brutal death metal and complexities of technical death metal to the melodic approach of melodeath and the progressive approachs of the likes of Opeth. In addition, it seems that The Bridal Processions have taken inspiration from the likes of Nocturnus and Darkside, who are known for their use of atmospheric keyboards. There are also a couple of black metal and thrash metal elements on this album.

The music is varied - it's pompous and arty, yet aggressive and brutal (the Napalm Death-style death grunts suit the music very well), and the production is polished and well-defined (which is a good thing in this case, because it allows you to hear all the interesting details). The musicianship is top notch, too, and there's alot of awesome guitar work on this album. In many ways, "Astronomical Dimensions" is death metal's version of Dimmu Borgir's "Abrahadabra" in the sense that it is symphonic and varied without abandoning its extreme metal roots.

Do yourself a favor and check this album out.

(review originally posted on metalmusicarchives.com and in Danish on heavymetal.dk)"