Angelrust - The Nightmare Unfolds

April 16, 2009

Reviewer: Peter

In a surprising development of sorts, there haven’t been too many bands that draw comparisons to Opeth despite the band’s appeal.  Say what you will about the band, but they do something that is relatively unique for the metal music genre as a whole.  One band that dares to take on this challenge is West Virginia’s Angelrust.  Their style incorporates acoustic interludes, elements of death metal, and multiple vocals arrangements.  The end results can be heard on the band’s latest album The Nightmare Unfolds.

If you’re looking for references when listening to Angelrust, think of it as Opeth meets Dornenreich meets Nechochwen.  That last part should figure, since Aaron Carey (aka, Nechochwen) is listed as a guitarist on the album.  As for the music on the album, the first track “Neptune Heartbeat” begins with a nice acoustic interlude.  From there, it goes into a rather bombastic form of death metal, complete with clean and death metal vocals, although the latter is more borderline.  Throughout the track, the melody remains in good form and helps keep things together.  There are also some atmospheric elements to be found on tracks such as “The End Unbound” and “Of Blood and Steel,” which mainly give the album a dark forest feel.  Production values are very strong; with each note being heard clearly and at times, even amplified to the point where even having the volume at half level can cause the breakables to shake.  The sound is truly more of a death/progressive metal hybrid that can at times, be hard to distinguish one from the other, but that is exactly what an album like The Nightmare Unfolds wants to do: challenge the listener to take as deep of a listen as possible.  On the surface, it is very good; however, so much more can be found when the focus is on the music itself.  The vocals work very well with one another and don’t try to outshine the other.  Again, the production values showcase the real abilities of Andrew D’Cagna, who has a strong range.  The drumming further drives the point home with punishing beats that somehow, remain one half of the glue that holds everything together alongside the bass.

It’s hard to imagine that Angelrust can still improve, even after a strong effort such as what is heard on The Nightmare Unfolds.  However, all great bands want to do better.  With the immense talent that is in the band, motivation shouldn’t be a problem with Angelrust.  If Opeth isn’t challenging enough for you, Angelrust can solve that problem for you.  Just be sure to turn on your mind when putting on The Nightmare Unfolds because this one will no doubt stretch the mental limits of one’s thinking.

Release Date: 2008
Label: Stronghold Records

TRACK LISTING

1. Neptune Heartbeat
2. Desolate Grace
3. In Soil She Sleeps
4. The End Unbound
5. Halo Around the Moon
6. Of Blood and Steel

Total playing time: 50:44

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