Belgian melodic metal band, Dyscordia bring you their current album, ‘The Road To Oblivion’, released in March. ‘TRTO’ is their 4th album.
Composed of ex-members of Gwyllion, Double Diamond, Artrach, Anesthesy, Impedigon and Rhymes Of Destruction, their debut EP (‘Reveries’) landed in 2010. Live slots, supporting high-profile bands, such as Primal Fear, ReVamp, Ensiferum, Alestorm and At Vance followed.
Much media acclaim and appearances at festivals, including PPM, Dokk’ em Open Air and Graspop Metal Meeting followed on from their debut album, ‘Twin Symbiosis’ (2013).
‘TS’, 2nd album, ‘Words In Ruin’ (2016, recorded, 2015) and 2019 3rd album, ‘Delete/Rewrite’, were all recorded, produced and engineered by Jens Bogren (Opeth, Paradise Lost, Katatonia) and Tony Lindgren, at Fascination Street Studios, Sweden.
‘WRI’s release show rapidly sold out. Live Festival features, including Alcatraz Metal Fest and 2016’s Summerbreeze Open Air brought them to global attention.
2019’s ‘D/R’ got the band a slot, supporting Doro, on their 2020 European tour. COVID unfortunately halted that plan. A change of drummer, in late 2022 was then followed by Dyscordia returning home.
New track, ‘Hell’ arrived in 2023, featured on ‘TRTO’, launched this year.
The Passenger – An unexpectedly ambient intro sound; injecting curiosity, before segueing, into a hauntingly metallic refrain. The Ozzy-esque vocals are too far back, but the accompaniments work well. It’s a bit of a swooshy production sound, but the heaviness is clearly inherent. Coming to the fore, 3 mins in, before returning, to the slightly less swooshy sound. Lots of metal energy. Those vocals just need to come forward. Their strength’s there. It just needs greater projection.
Hell – Similar swoosh, but this time, it opens straight onto the main refrain. Suddenly becoming quite Cooper-esque, vocally and lyrically. Still, that swooshy audio continues, but at least now, the vocals are clearer. They still need more power, though. Decent enough melodies and plenty of development potential, there. A noticeable catchy hook, within the latter riff melodies. That audio swooshing’s just distracting from the message and intensity of the song, though. Clearer fade-out.
Oblivion – Gentle steel string intro, with a beautiful melodic refrain. Here, the sound quality improves, though there are still clear hints of that swooshing, in places. Breaking down, into a faster rhythm, vocalised via a group effort. A stronger sense to this, but still, that swooshing invades. A well-placed, effective choral section adds to the energy. Riffs getting their chance to shine, just before the 4 min mark, with that solo. 4.33 sees a strong collective, Viking-esque vocal enter. Again, it just needs to shed that swooshiness. Good echoic vocal close.
Interlude – Good, energetic drum intro! This is better sound quality. Very active drum fills, boosting the energy. Bringing it up and down, sporadically. A very strong sense of experimentalism, here. A pure instrumental, with a rapid rhythm and a lot of percussive power. Introi’ng a new sound, at approximately 3:10, with a sophisticated edge. Leaning into an unpredictable and slightly psychedelic pattern, from there and ending on a final drum hit.
Endgame – Straight in, with a very typical metal refrain. That drumming backdrop lends it strength, with the bass adding to the depth of the effect. As before, the vocals are still too far back, but their passion’s obvious. Bass more prominent, from 2 mins in. It’s clear those metal vocals have a lot to offer. They just need more forward prominence. Great riffage and rhythmic sustain. Well-placed choirs, towards the end.
Toxic Rain – Very fitting, rain-like rhythmic melodies open. Moving into a heavier, more extreme segment. Now, the vocals are louder). Briefly, anyway. Returning to previous form kills the effect. There’s a dire need for boosted vocal levels. A decent, crunchy drum and riff bridge, moving, fluidly, into a smooth refrain. That vocal energy’s screaming to escape. It needs to do so. Ending on an explosive blast.
The Demons Bite – Moving in, with a vacuum of sound and a fun strummed chord, supported by a heavier, steel string riff. That Ozzy-esque vocal returns, with pizzazz and it’s got real pull, but once again, it’s too low and needs turning up. The melody works and it’s well delivered. The vocal level just needs to match that of the accompaniments. This is a sound likely to be popular, for its heavy, upbeat sound and Ozzy-esque effect.
Infinite Fantasy – Great clearer riff intro, moving, swiftly, into a very fantasy-style atmosphere). Vocals delivering that edgy feature, once more, but that same problem remains, with their lack of volume. Good strong accompanying melodic heaviness. Unfortunately, the swooshing’s returned; ruining the effect, somewhat. It’s still an enjoyable sound, with a good strong backbeat. The audio just needs smoothing out and its consistency enhanced. There’s a lot to like about this and ultimately, it’s very much heavy metal. Closing with a whistle, beside the accompaniments, fading out, clearly.
Overall – ‘The Road To Oblivion’ is, essentially, a very decent, enjoyable album, with many traditional metal features. It’s 2 abiding issues, are the almost continuing swooshing sound and the low vocal levels. Cut the swooshing and raise the vocal volume and the quality would instantly match the accompaniments. Otherwise, the melodies are strong and catchy and the arrangements, engaging. Just address the previous points and ‘TRTO’ll be a solid metal album.
8/10 ********
For fans of Ozzy Osbourne, Metallica, Kyrbgrinder, Alice Cooper, Oil, Blakenstein.
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