Solace of Requiem “Utopia Reborn” CD

"Utopia Reborn" is the sophomore effort from Virginia Beach death metal trio Solace of Requiem, released earlier this year by the German label Ruptured Silence. I can remember covering Solace of Requiem's first record at the start of last year, and I wasn't that impressed by it, so I'm quite pleased that this disc sees the band having significantly improved their production values as well as taking the initial points of potential heard in their songwriting to the next level by strengthening the overall quality of their riffs and adding in a bit more energy and variety to their arrangements. There's still room for improvement, of course, but I'm definitely digging the overall impact of this material. For the most part the band's style is rooted in the early classics of the American death metal scene in terms of brutal midpaced riffing and a good dose of speed, but they tend to allow the bass to counter the guitars fairly well, and toss in some discordant layering and soloing that keeps things from sounding like a throwback or what have you. The recording's pretty damn strong for a band at this level as well—infinitely stronger than that of their debut—with a nice and chunky guitar tone, dense bass that doesn't get completely lost in the mix, fairly natural percussive textures, etc. When looking at the big picture, "Utopia Reborn" defines a very admirable progression for Solace of Requiem to date, so I hope they start to garner a bit more attention, because I could see them doing some serious damage if they continue to grow at this pace. Well done.

Solace of Requiem "Language of the Gods"

It's worth noting that the above track features some guest vocals from former (and only, if you ask me) Malevolent Creation vocalist Brett Hoffmann as well. Good stuff. Pick this shit up for $10 from the band if you're into it:

@ Solace of Requiem