Released on: 12th May 2018
Fractal Gates complete an unholy trinity of decidedly raw and powerful melodic metal with their third album The Light That Shines. An album that has more in common with classic heavy metal rather than death metal. Notably most in its cogent rhythms, lyrical concepts and artificially generated sounds. That does not mean it is not fucking excellent though.
Perhaps their affinity to death metal lies in their influence or maybe it is because they are writing from the perspective of suicidal nihilism. The lyrical ideas behind The Light That Shines cover items like existentialist musings on the future and science fiction. Where you can really get behind a concept which has a positive mental attitude when confronting necrophobia. Is it medicine or an aural kill.
It is not quite death metal but there are some similarities. Mainly the vocals themselves. And it makes this album deeply reminiscent of Dark Tranquilitys’ earlier work.
In contrast to this the riffs are motivational. Inspiring a good bit of oomph and requiring serious attention. Where, as the melodies climb so too does the energies behind the songs, giving the album a powerful foundation on which the rest of the band create a miasma of provoking tunes.
Fractal Gates have got the French panache and with their riffs and melodies they remain classy while indulging in unbiased passion. This makes The Light That Shines a prime example of a marriage between love and the arts and it is a tale worth more than its weight in gold.
8/10
