THREADS OF FATE — A Funeral for the Virtuous (review)

THREADS OF FATE — A Funeral for the Virtuous album cover EP · 2018 · Symphonic Metal Buy this album from MMA partners
2.5/5 ·
lukretion
Threads of Fate formed in 2017 from an idea of vocalist John Pyres (Among the Giants; Lycanthro). He recruited guitarist Jack Kosto (Seven Spires), keyboard player Vikram Shankar (Redemption, Silent Skies) and drummer Jake Dick (Atomic Witch) to record this EP that was then released independently in 2018. The album contains four tracks for a duration of about 23 minutes. The music can be broadly classified as belonging to the symphonic metal genre, although Thread of Fate bring together quite a diverse set of influences that they combine with gusto to create a fairly original and unique sound.

The music is richly symphonic thanks to Vikram Shankar’s masterful orchestral arrangements and a songwriting that it unafraid to experiment with contrapuntal melodies and multiple layered harmonies. John Pyres uses both his clean, high tenor tone and his growls. The former use melodies that would not be out of place on a dark prog/power metal album (Evergrey; Kamelot). Pyres’ growls run all the spectrum from guttural lows to mid-range shrieks, suggesting a blackened death metal style as the primary influence. Jake Dick’s drumming is also in the black metal style, with frequent blast beats and brutally fast and technical sections. The atmospheres are downcast and melancholic, with hints of doom, but there is also an overarching epic feeling that runs through the music, making for an interesting and imaginative combination. If you can think of a sonic collision between Swallow the Sun and Evergrey with an added dose of metallic aggression, you may get an idea of how the EP sounds like.

It is not difficult to see why this EP caught the interest of Dutch prog/symphonic metal label Layered Reality Productions, which four years later released Threads of Fate’s debut full-length. There are many good ideas thrown in the mix here, with a strong balance between structural complexity, technical playing and an unwavering sense of melody, making each song accessible but also challenging and stimulating. Inevitably for a self-produced debut EP, there are quite a few rough edges too. The raw production and mixing is one of them, which penalizes the busiest and most complex passages of the music. I am also not a big fan of Jake Dick’s performance. His choice of drumming patters and his general lack of restraint do not always work for the betterment of the songs. I am not surprised that the band switched to a different drummer for the full-length album. There’s room for improvement also in John Pyres’ vocals, especially his cleans that at times sound a tad too strained and tentative.

The 2022 full-length will massively improve on many of these imperfections, testifying to the strong potential of this band. This EP is nevertheless an interesting listen that fans of melodic symphonic metal will lap up in an instant.
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