Destinity – XI Reasons To See

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Melodeath has suffered from a case of genre decay over the years. Where once the emphasis was still very much on the ‘death’ part of the name, these days those bands that fall into the genre usually have more emphasis on the ‘melo’ part. As such, many of these bands have evolved to play outright melodic metal, or have even been considered metalcore – not really what you’d think the likes of At The Gates were leaning towards when they started. So it is with some relief that a band such as France’s Destinity are still keeping the original sound alive. XI Reasons To See has all the essential elements of the heavier side of melodeath, filled with guitar riffing that sounds straight out of Gothenburg. Not that Destinity manage to hide their french nationality. The band’s singer does keep mostly to the death growls that are vital for bands of the genre, but often switches to a strongly accented and boisterous clean vocal too. This gives the album a bit of a swagger, a subtle twist on the otherwise rather familiar melodeath sound. Combined with a generally good set of songs, and still retaining enough melody to appeal to fans of the more mainstream side of the genre, this is an album that works rather well even if it never does anything drastically different. This is classic melodeath with a distinct french flavour and little to fault with, which should be enough for any lover of the genre.

Written by James Donovan
More: 2011, Albums, Death Metal, Quick.Play Reviews, Destinity