Loch Vostok | Dystopium
by Justin Gaines
Staff Writer
Dystopium is the fourth full-length album from Swedish genre-benders Loch Vostok. Formed from the ashes of the progressive metal band Mayadome, Loch Vostok combines elements of Evergrey-style dark progressive metal with a hefty helping of the kind of melodic death metal In Flames and Soilwork used to deliver. The result is a hybrid metal sound along the lines of Raintime, Into Eternity, Scar Symmetry and especially Mercenary.
It’s always interesting to hear such different metal genres combined like this. You have the speed and aggression of death metal combined with the technical intricacies of progressive metal, all with enough melody to make the whole thing accessible. Teddy Möller continues to shine both as a guitarist as well as a front-man, employing a dramatic clean vocal style and a wicked death metal growl to great effect. The rhythms and general atmosphere of Dystopium are not unlike the average Evergrey album, but when you factor in the drumming (courtesy of Lawrence Dinamarca), which is particularly fierce on songs like “Disconnection” and “In the Wake of Humanity,” the end result is a lot closer to Soilwork.
There’s some really intricate guitar work, though it’s often overshadowed by the high-speed riffing. Keyboards do not play a very prominent role this time around, but that may be for the best, given the album’s overall darker and bleaker direction. The lyrics on Dystopium appear to continue to reflect the band’s socio-political outlook, and will require further study.
Progressive metal fans, especially those who still miss Möller’s work in Mayadome and Wuthering Heights, will no doubt feel somewhat let down by the more straightforward, more aggressive style on this album, but Dystopium is definitely going to please those with an ear for melodic death metal who don’t mind their progressive metal to be on the heavier end of the spectrum.
Genre: Melodic Death Metal, Progressive Metal
Band:
Niklas Kupper (g)
Teddy Möller (v) (g)
Fredrik Klingwall (k)
Jimmy Mattsson (b)
Lawrence Dinamarca (d)
Track Listing:
1. A Mission Undivne
2. Repeat Offender
3. World Trade Dissenter
4. Sacred Structure
5. Navigator
6. In the Wake of Humanity
7. Viral Strain
8. Disconnection
9. Taste the Flame
10. Absence
11. Dystopium
Label: ViciSolum Productions
Website: www.lochvostok.com
Hardrock Haven rating: 7.75/10