(Andy Synn reviews the new second album by Parisian metal band The Bridal Procession.)

Two words: Symphonic deathcore.

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There, now that I’ve cleared the room, the rest of us can talk privately.

I suppose that first line was like a red rag to a bull, or a canary in a coal mine (some sort of metaphorical animal anyway), to some people. Priming their rage, or warning them off, well in advance.

It was, however, also a little bit misleading. The (now sadly defunct) French band generally err closer to the “Death” than the “core” side of the equation, and their first album Astronomical Dimensions was a veritable kick in the teeth of bone-crunching Behemoth bludgeon and gruesome Whitechapel groove, with some fantastically menacing symphonic flourishes.

There’s still enough stylistic elements, if you’re a genre-Nazi like me, to stick the band with the “Deathcore” tag – despite the fact that a certain proportion of their fanbase is insistent on referring to them as “Progressive Death Metal”. But for me there’s no shame in being “Deathcore” when your material is this strong and your album itself provides a compelling argument for the existence of the style! Continue reading »