The RMR crew’s first interaction with Degrees of Truth was back in 2016. The Reins of Life was the piece’s name – and it didn’t quite register with us back then. We should probably have shown that piece some better love. And contrite RMR admits that this old record of them truly deserved better than a puny little blurb of badly managed wordsmithing. But hindsight is always 20/20 and now it’s too late. Also, for some reason, DoT‘s 2019 album didn’t register over here. A trail of missed opportunities and skeletons in the backyard? Somewhat.
Now, luckily and thanks to the folks over at Scarlet Records, Alchemists here finally got on our radar. Redemption’s finally coming up!
Since we last looked at them, the band had a change of Claudia. Pezzotta apparently is no more and in came Claudia Beltrame as the new female vocalist as of 2020. She sports some pretty impressive elastic pipes that are up there with Sharon den Adel (Within Temptation) and the modern Simone Simons (Epica). And it’s almost ironic at the same time. Some alchemy in action and – boom – you got yourself the stereotypical female front, red hair and all. In line with many of those Symphonic Metal outfits with a gothic twist.
And truly, Alchemists sports a mix of Melodic and Symphonic Metal with some squirts of progressive goodness woven into it. So no, this record definitely won’t rival Haken,1 but you can expect some mix of Arjen Lucassen-style prog from the Marcela Bovio era and melodics from Wessel’s2 era Delain. And I could namedrop this record to Andromeda and back, it’s often so similar to what was before. Funky, huh? A hunt for the glory of the past, a way back machine to long-gone geekery. On the other hand, this is when there was true power in these emerging styles. These days it is sometimes difficult to get excited, much of the space has been taken over by dime-a-dozen outfits full of posers and copycats.
But similarities apart, Alchemists is a pretty lusty piece. For once, Imperfect Concoction,3 the ubiquitous but reasonably dramatic intro, managed to fascinate us to a point. Godless Symphony nicely sets the pace into gothically-tainted Melodic Metal. A smooth track that – unfortunately – didn’t quite click with this crew here. It’s a bit too dependent on vocals set on a pretty standard arrangement that failed to get our juices flowing. Now, if you’re looking for more intense fare, head straight to Flightmare. Heavy chugging guitars, a prog flavor in some parts, and some seriously improved drum work. A track tailor-made for Beltrame‘s vocal prowess.
What else? Wreckage of Time got our attention with its undeniably refreshing pace and breaks to more majestic slower parts toward the end. Apart from that, you’ll find run-of-the-mill stuff that’s good but never ventures into the loftier realms of upper-echelon melodic and symphonic prowess. Well, perhaps, with the exception of Thread of Life. This truly is the filet piece of Alchemists. Free-flowing piano interludes, multi-layered to a point, some comfortably heavy prog, slow-motion groove with some acoustics that suddenly appear out of nowhere, and all that abundance of melodic elements flowing in on subtle orchestration. That’s the spirit, and there unfortunately wasn’t enough of that on this record.
Ultimately though, Degrees of Truth created somewhat of a mixed bag. Alchemists won’t win a Grammy with this record, that’s for sure. On the other hand, none of the tracks are bad and they’re packed with a gazillion ideas, different styles, and pretty good energy. But the painful lack of hooks made our minds wander at times. And that definitely ain’t a good thing. Yet again, fans of Symphonic and Melodic Metal will find a lot to like with DoT‘s performance here. There’s a ton of juicy bits and pieces that will talk to the fan crowd. Yet I fear that the extra spins on the RMR music machine will remain limited. And that’s unfortunate.
Record Rating: 6/10 | Label: Scarlet Records | Web: Official Band Site
Release Date: 23 June 2023