Awesome band needs label: Solstice

Back in 2005 I wrote about Solstice's "Pray" album, which was—at the time— their final release (from 1995), so I was both shocked and psyched when the band's guitarist, Dennis Munoz, recently got in touch with me and sent over a CD-R of the band's new, yet-to-be-released full-length, "To Dust". But even more shocking is that the band has yet to secure a label for the proper release of the album, so I'm hoping that this post might happen to remedy that problem! While both of Solstice's early-90's full-lengths are excellent slabs of chunky, thrash-laced Florida death metal, "Pray" remains my favorite, so it's great to see that 3/4 of the "Pray" lineup returns on "To Dust", with drummer Brian Harris being the only new addition. And as I'd hoped, this material picks up right where the band left off more than a decade ago, with 11 tracks and 42 minutes of tight, churning death/thrash that still reminds me a good bit of early Malevolent Creation (which is nothing but complimentary seeing as I find "Retribution" to be the greatest death metal album of all time). The prominence of the bass in the mix retains some of the added oomph that made the band's prior work so forceful (here more textured due to the crispness of the recording), while the occasional lead break offers even more sleek melody and tactful flash than before. The songwriting's just a hint faster and more technical as a whole, adding more of a counterbalance to their penchant for absolutely pounding rhythms and meaty picking patterns. Also incredible is the inclusion of a cover of Cynic's "Extremes", from the "Reflections of a Dying World" demo. I mean, come on, that's just fucking cool, man!

Everything's still very much in line with what the band was doing back in the day, though, so if you were into their first two records, you'll absolutely be down with this material. Not only is it somewhat rare for a band to reunite with the majority of their former lineup intact, but for a death metal act to deliver such a killer piece of work about 14 years after their last recorded output is pretty fuckin' outstanding. Here's the title track to give you a little taste of what the complete album holds:

Solstice "To Dust"

I sincerely hope I can do some good here in spreading the word about this and getting some labels interested, so... please spread the word if you're a fan. And if you're potentially interested in releasing this record, by all means shoot Dennis an email or contact the band on MySpace!