UMUR
"Between the Worlds of Life and Death" is the third full-length studio album by US, Denver, Colorado based death metal act Vale of Pnath. The album was released through Willowtip Records in May 2024. It´s the successor to "II" from June 2016, although the two full-length studio albums are bridged by the 2019 "Accursed" EP (at 27:32 minutes it´s only 10 minutes shorter than this album, so maybe mini-album is a more correct label than EP). So it´s safe to say that Vale of Pnath haven´t been the most prolific act in terms of output. They´ve been marred by quite a few lineup changes over the years though and of course the COVID-19 epidemic probably didn´t do anything good for them either. On "Between the Worlds of Life and Death", Vale of Pnath work as the trio of Vance Valenzuela (guitars), Ken Sorceron (vocals, guitars, bass), and Gabe Seeber (drums). The latter two are new in the lineup since the release of "Accursed". Other than the performances by the permanent members of the band, "Between the Worlds of Life and Death" also features quite a few guest performances. Mainly a host of guitarists playing solos on the album, but also Wayne Ingram (Wilderun) who is responsible for orchestration on a couple of tracks (the album intro track and an interlude track later on the album), and Kakophonix who performs cello parts.
Stylistically the material on "Between the Worlds of Life and Death" is a continuation of the technically well played death metal style of the previous releases, but the more dominant use of keyboards and the blackened growling provide this particular release with a symphonic black metal element I don´t think I heard on the preceding output by Vale of Pnath. They´ve toned down the technical playing a bit too, and focus more on epic blackened atmospheres, although there are still plenty of technical playing and complex songwriting ideas on the album. At first it may seem a bit odd to have no less than five different guest solo guitarists play on the album, but the solos are generally very well played and provide the music with a couple of blistering virtuosic moments. They are nicely melodic too.
"Between the Worlds of Life and Death" features a powerful, detailed, and professional sounding production job, and it´s overall a well sounding release, featuring a sound production which matches the material. So upon conclusion "Between the Worlds of Life and Death" is another high quality release from Vale of Pnath. I must confess to being a bit confused regarding the band´s symphonic blackened edge, because that´s not at all how they started out in 2011 on their debut full-length studio album "The Prodigal Empire". Vale of Pnath have of course developed since and the "Accursed" EP also included some blackened elements, but with "Between the Worlds of Life and Death" they go pretty much all in in terms of incorporating symphonic black metal elements to their melodic and technically well played death metal style. While this is arguably high quality music, the development of Vale of Pnath´s style does leave me with the impression that they lack a personal style and musical direction, or that they are maybe just still searching for it. A 3.5 star (70%) rating is deserved.