FRENZY FIRE

    

METAL & ROCK REVIEWS

    
             
HOME            
REVIEWS            
ARTISTS            
UPCOMING            
LINKS            
             

 

     
   
   
       
       

Veni Vidi Delevi

    
       
       
       
     
             
PyraH are a heavy metal band from France formed in 2013 heavily influenced by the recent modern metal phenomena, the band melding classic heavy metal with alternative and progressive leanings along with a weighty touch of melodic death to deliver a genre spanning, howling and scowling array of immense variation! To date, PyraH have released one E.P. - 'Rusty' (2013), and three albums - 'Where Am I?' (2014), 'Part Of The Ghost World' (2019), and 'Veni Vidi Delevi' (2024).    
             
The band - vocalist Ivy Brizard, guitarist Maxime Walchuk, bassist Clem Artuso and drummer Lucie Duval, are fairly aggressive yet hauntingly melodic too, and over twelve songs and fifty minutes, 'Veni Vidi Delevi' does exactly what its Latin translation means, "I came, I saw, I destroyed". So prepare to be destroyed by a neck wrecking barrage of bold, boisterous and bludgeoning metal, as the album explodes into life with 'Death From Above' - the heaviness oozing outta the album opener heavier than a black hole! The band are aggressive and menacing in equal quantities here, the razor sharp guttural vocals from Brizard lacerating the sky with supreme ease - the singer throwing out some clean vocals too! And as for the music - how long have you got! There's traditional metal, death, thrash, alternative, modern and even a little Grunge - the band opening up their brand of metal to a very wide audience. 'My Only Solace' hammers the ground with immense force, the jack hammer riffing hitting very hard, the vocals switching from clean to harsh in the blink of an eye - Brizard displaying an incredible range! And menacing too, remind me never to get on the singer's wrong side - 'These Silent Halls' turning on its heels to roar off at the fastest pace heard so far. That is until 'These Silent Halls' approaches the minute mark when PyraH turn into a groove metal band, switching tempo's this way and that, changing through the gears numerous times to deliver a pace changing thunderstorm of deafening proportions!    
             
With so many metal styles on show, it can sometimes be difficult to track the root sound of a band, 'Mind Reset' striding out of the alternative metal field straight into groove, with a quick visit to melodic death and thrash! I tell ya readers, varied isn't quite the right word to describe 'Veni Vidi Delevi's marauding metal meander - diverse maybe! Yea, a diverse range of styles to attract the attentions of a varied (there's that word again) worldwide audience! Staying with groove metal, PyraH forge ahead with the highly abrasive 'Obey', along with a growling, howling and scowling vocal display, the French metallers straddling the borders of thrash and melodic death metal to keep their music heavy! Very heavy! And for the faint of heart metal fan (if there really is one), I'd definitely advise approaching 'Veni Vidi Delevi' with extreme caution - for terrifying, menacing and aggressive leanings await you! Chilling too, as evidenced by the title song 'Veni Vidi Delevi', the band moving forward with a haunting vibe, strolling very close to the melancholic feel of Gothic metal.    
             
And at the (albums) half way point, the diversity remains at the forefront of everything the band have on offer, 'Dancing With Devils' opening with the mellowest feel of any song heard so far, the band teasing a little balladry as 'Dancing With Devils' creeps forth with an air of an impending crescendo that'll suddenly go boom! But a boom never comes, the anticipative nature remaining in force for the songs entire two minute fifteen second run time - it's the next song 'End Of The Slope' that provides the boom! And what a boom - so loud in fact that many listeners may jump when the song explodes like a bomb and hurtles on at pace, thrashy groove metal taking front and centre! The way the band slide from one style of metal to another and then another, is seamless - PyraH's immense arsenal of metal seemingly endless! And the vocals here are a mix of Blizard's trademark howls, scowls and clean, but with a little metalcore thrown in too - 'Sea Of Faces' returning the mellow feel from earlier. The longest song on offer at six and a half minutes in length, 'Sea Of Faces' exhibits a little symphonic sizzle along with soaring vocals - for all of one minute twenty five seconds! And then with a guttural howl, 'Sea Of Faces' becomes a thundering thrash, death and groove metal firestorm, full of pace and power too - definitely the nearest the album has come to portraying the iconic "metal gallop". Is this where traditional metallers become interested in 'Veni Vidi Delevi' (the album)? Maybe, just maybe!    
             
Entering its final quarter, 'Veni Vidi Delevi' (the album) remains as heavy as hell, 'Cursed To Fail' featuring screeching metalcore come death metal vocals, the band remaining fully ensconced in groove metal territory - perhaps taking up a permanent residency too, with frequent trips to other metal territories! And if I can be really honest for just a minute, the band take too many "other metal territory" trips for me, I'd much prefer a mix of just three different styles of metal! 'Guidance From Within' returns a short burst of the soaring vocals heard earlier, resuming the more usual howls and scowls as PyraH maintain their diverse approach to metal as the album nears its final hurrah - the moody, menacing, melancholic 'Constant Chatter', the band showcasing every metal style in their vast arsenal! If you like your metal diverse with a sense of not knowing in which direction it's gonna turn next, then this is the album for you.    
             

Overall, a varied and diverse range of metal styles, 'Veni Vidi Delevi' offers the listener elements of thrash, death and groove metal along with so much more.

    
             
             
Review by Iron Mathew Collins    
             
Reviewed for Metal Gods TV    
             
             
Top