(written by Islander)
The Finnish band Denominate have been on an increasingly fascinating musical journey as they’ve moved from release to release over the last decade. In one sense, they’ve always been a death metal band, but they’ve been consistently exploratory since the advent of their 2015 debut EP, Realms of Confusion, and their music is now best described as progressive death metal.
Our last encounter with them was in the context of their second full-length in 2020, Isochron, reviewed here by our Andy Synn. Even then, Andy highlighted the band’s prog-metal magic in an album that had its fair share of ingredients from the realms of technical death metal.
And now Denominate are returning with a third album, Restoration, which represents the culmination (to date) of their adventurous evolutions. It still displays a lot of eye-opening technical skill and includes a fair share of ravaging attacks, but it’s also the most multifaceted (and prog-inclined) release by Denominate so far, one in which captivating melodies and atmospheric passages play prominant roles — as you’ll learn for yourselves through our premiere of a stunning second single from the album today.
The song’s name — “Liminal” — suits the music extremely well. The word “liminal” is usually defined as a description of something that occupies a position at, or on both sides of, a boundary or threshold, or as relating to a transitional state, an intermediate phase between one thing and another. The song itself is an elaborate, richly varied, and frequently head-spinning experience that seems to dance along and weave back and forth across multiple boundaries — between earthbound and spirit realms, between phases of daunting darkness and exuberant brilliance, and between aspects of antiquity and modernity (at least as we hear it).
The song drives forward from the outset with visceral power, thanks to a heavily booming bass and vivid beats. What goes on around that strong rhythmic surge, however, are unearthly sensations that bring to mind something like sirens squalling and apparitions wailing.
Following that attention-seizing overture, the guitars frantically swirl and dart while a gritty voice maliciously snarls and bays at the moon; eventually the vocals also sing in somewhat distressing tones. Although the rhythm section continues supplying an earthy punch, the twisting and soaring melodies are ethereal and hallucinatory, intersected by bursts of frantic fretwork and those multifaceted vocals.
Denominate also dial up the song’s intensity even more, freeing the drums to blast away, heating the bass-lines into feverishness, and elevating the melodies into shrill and sparkling novas of sound. But they also dial the intensity down, leaving the stage to a vivid acoustic guitar instrumental that seems to have a flamenco influence, creating a mesmerizing dance that becomes even more enticing when the rhythm section return.
Gradually, Denominate embellish that interlude section with other exhilarating instrumental layers before bringing back the vocals (the vicious ones even more intense than ever), along with those shining and swirling swaths of melody and electric drum-fills.
Restoration will be released by the Dusktone label on January 9th, in CD and digital formats. Not for naught do they recommend the album for fans of Opeth, Rivers of Nihil, Ne Obliviscaris, and In Mourning. Below you’ll find useful links and a stream of the record’s remarkable first single, “The Cistern“.
PRE-ORDER:
https://www.dusktone.it/
https://dusktone.bandcamp.com/album/restoration
DENOMINATE:
https://www.facebook.com/denominateband
https://www.instagram.com/denominateband