Parius – “Let There Be Light” [EP] [Album Review]

Parius, hailing from the City of Brotherly Love, in turn sound quite angry and exhibit some of that nastiness that Philadelphia is at times known for. Let There Be Light is their second offering, after last year’s debut full-length album, Saturnine.

Right out of the gate, the riffing reminds me of really aggressive Bay Area thrash metal. It’s super-technical and pretty damn clean. The songs are, overall, well-orchestrated and I really dig the string effects that are included in “Let There Be Light” and the use of keys in “A Somber Dream.” The vocals are angry as they should be…wait…oomph… It’s like getting hit in the stomach; there are also some clean vocal parts. Some of you may like that they mix up the vocals like this, but personally, I rather them just keep it angry. The bass is audible as well which is always is bonus in death metal. The drumming, well, it’s phenomenal. Here’s a fun fact, there are guest solos performed by Ryan Knight (ex–The Black Dahlia Murder) and Michael Keene (The Faceless).

This is great technical death metal and my only complaint is that whole EP clocks in at just over 15 minutes. I was just getting into it when it ended!

Let There Be Light [EP] Track Listing:

01. Let There Be Light
02. A Shade Darker Than Black
03. A Somber Dream
04. Another Kind of Reckoning

Run Time: 15:05
Release Date: January 17, 2017

Check out the EP Let There Be Light