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Inferi > The Path of Apotheosis > Reviews
Inferi - The Path of Apotheosis

Trip down memory lane: Part 5 - 100%

LawrenceStillman, April 28th, 2023
Written based on this version: 2014, CD, The Artisan Era (Digipak)

Alternative title: Best Inferi album / Technical death metal and melodic death metal are like two peas in a pod

This band is the first time I've listened to any band with "technical death metal" attached to it, and I came across this band through a rhythm game of all things, that being osu! (the exclamation mark is part of the name, and yes it is all lowercase). Back then I knew nothing about them besides their song "The Promethean Kings" which was the hardest custom chart in the game back in 2016, and I was not impressed by the song, but not long (less than a month) after I first heard the song, another song from the same album was made into a chart in the game, and it being "Those Whom From The Heavens Came" and it made me search this album and I was hooked since. This album features hard hitting tracks after hard hitting tracks, scratching my itch of wanting fast and brutal but also melodic death metal records, and after all these years, this album is still among my favourites.

First things first, do note that this album, while under the label of melodic death metal, still possesses more technical death metal elements than melodeath, in a 65/35 split in favour of tech. And it is not hard to see why, blistering and precise drumming (I mean 250+ BPM), guitar leads that sounds like showing off, and impressive solos that show up in every song, and each song has multiple of them, all being the hallmarks of a technical death metal record similar to Obscura. But there are also some aspects that separate this album from most tech death albums, among them are the more-than-usual amount of melodic leads that are utilized here (they are labeled melodeath for a reason), and the symphonic keyboards that are somewhat similar to what Dimmu Borgir uses, used in a subtle and buried way where it is used to compliment the instruments, but never loud enough to take the spotlight away from the guitars. The bass is also pretty audible too, but being tech death makes audible bass a rule rather than an exception.

"How is this important then? I can just go listen to Obscura or First Fragment, they also have the same things you just described, only without the keyboards!" Well, that is a good question, and the answer is that this album is more consistent than albums like Omnivium and Gloire Eternelle. The Path of Apotheosis stays in the same style of tech/melodic death that is shown on the first track, and while the band do deviate from that song for the rest of the album, they never stray far, it is always the same blistering drums, powerful leads, and impressive solos, just manifested in different ways in every song, especially the solos, all of them are very memorable, while most technical or melodic death metal bands have a lot of solos in any given album that sounds forgettable and like they were made up on the spot.

This album is what I wished every melodic death metal should be: Melodic, but also keeping the "death metal" in its name, so that means being fast and pulverizing, while retaining a maximalist approach to songwriting and instrumentation. I really hope we get more albums like this in the future, or PM me if you do know albums similar to this, because I really dig this kind of melodic death metal.

Also Vile Genesis (Inferi's 2021 album) is apparently a sequel concept album to this concept album, that's cool.

Highlights: Those Whom From The Heavens Came, Marching Through The Flames of Tyranny, The Path of Apotheosis, Destroyer

One of the most epic and most perfect albums - 100%

Lord AdGnalDiv, May 17th, 2018

Though Inferi was my introduction into death metal - "The Promethean Kings" being the first death metal song I recall actively listening to - it took me a while to appreciate just how much of a masterpiece "The Path of Apotheosis" truly is. It combines elements from my three favourite subgenres of death metal - technical, melodic, symphonic - to create a hellishly brutal yet heavenly melodic sound that I struggle to find with any other band or album.

This album's sound is defined by a more melodic take on technical death metal with orchestral support. It cannot, though, be called "symphonic death metal" in any way as the orchestral elements never take center stage (except a heavenly choir halfway through "Destroyer"), unlike bands like Fleshgod Apocalypse or ICDD, which operate at comparable speeds but with way more reliance on orchestral elements. This more "subtle" (in comparison) use of symphonic samples allows the guitarists to stay in the foreground and impress with dozens of mindblowing solos.

A special quality of this album which I have only really come to appreciate through the recent release of "Revenant" is the memorability of the riffs and solos. With so many tech-death bands the solos and especially the riffs are needlessly complicated and thus blend together into an indistinguishable mass when you try to remember them. "The Path of Apotheosis," however, has eleven Tracks which are all unique and memorable.

A very prominent part of any death metal formation is, of course, the drummer who in this album's case does a tremendous job. Keeping up a highly impressive speed for most of the album's runtime. While the drumming on this album is nothing particularly outstanding it is most certainly nothing to complain about either. Lightning fast blast beats and complicated fills, like you would expect of a band which has a style described as "technical/melodic death metal."

Now, what really makes this album interesting in particular are the two singers. Guitarist Malcolm Pugh providing the screaming lead vocals and bassist Nevin O'Hearn balancing that out with lower more guttural vocals. Their constant back and forth of high and low lines makes the entire album feel more varied and easy to listen to than it would be with only one of those styles.

In my opinion, "The Path of Apotheosis" is what technical death metal should be: Fast, technically impressive, brutal, but melodic, coordinated and distinguishable. With this release, Inferi ticked all those boxes which, in my humble opinion, justifies a solid 10/10 5-Star, 100% rating.

One of the most epic and probably the most perfect metal albums I have ever listened to.

Post Scriptum: In my praise of the vocals I completely overlooked vocalist Josh Harrell for which I wanted to apologize. I wrongly assumed that the high screaching vocals belonged to Malcolm Pugh when that was, of course, the voice of Harrell.

Disgustingly awesome melodic tech-death - 98%

kittentaser, January 31st, 2014

Out of Nashville, Tennessee, Inferi has been quietly churning over the years. Their first album, Divinity in War was full of great riffs, but mired by bad production and unsolid drumming. End of an Era, released in 2009, was an improvement in several ways, with much better guitar riffing, good (but not great) solos, and improved (if unspectacular) drumming. Yet this too was victim of awful production, which gutted the bass and vocals utterly. It was the And Justice For All of Tennessee melodic death metal (just to clarify for anyone that might misunderstand the reference, And Justice For All had no audible bass, and its production may or may not have been managed by Helen Keller, maligning forever an album which otherwise would likely have been Metallica's best album). After this album, the band broke up, never to be heard again...

Or so we thought... Rising from the ashes, Inferi has reformed with a new lineup and has just released their new album, "The Path of Apotheosis". The review is below:


First of all, well this might technically fall under "melodic death metal" I would clarify that they are quite a bit more brutal than your average melodeth, and quite a bit faster. Some sections here are easily 270 BPM or above, especially the title track. The riffs are rich and varied. Some are chunky, some are viciously clean and fast, with whirling leads flying every which way. One thing I really like about this record is how both guitar parts retain their own identity, most likely due to the fact that both founding member Malcolm Pugh (A Loathing Requiem, ex-Diskreet, ex-Enfold Darkness) and new guitarist Mike Low (Oubliette, ex-Enfold Darkness) are very competent guitarists. Their styles mesh extremely well, and combine to produce the brain exploding riff-based technicality which saturates the album. I hear some black metal influences from time to time, with really great tremolo picking riffs to increase atmosphere. The riffs are heavy, and remind me a little of Decrepit Birth's later melodic stuff, but smothered in Inferi's styling. I want to be clear here: This may be "tech death" but its not wheedle-wheedle-squeak-squeak like a lot of the bands these days. The technicality is firmly rooted in the song structure and is not the centerpiece of the record.

The solos deserve their own section here. There are solos on EVERY SONG, and many songs have multiple solos. Malcolm's playing reminds me of Christian Munzer of Obscura (Not quite there but almost), while Mike's reminds me of Marty Freedman, formerly of Megadeth (not quite there but almost.) Both employ the sweeps and taps and squeals and squeal dives, and their solos blend in to each-other effortlessly. Megadeth was cool because there were two unique lead guitarists, but we all knew who was better, didn't we? Inferi has no such problem. They seem to be perfectly matched talent wise, and after several listens I can attest that there's not a single unenjoyable solo on the entire record.

The drumming is top notch, as Jack Blackburn (VITAL REMAINS, ex-Enfold Darkness) can do any blast, any double bass pattern, and generally any other metal drumming style with great ease and accuracy. He varies his patterns enough to keep it interesting, and the drum sounds themselves are quite pleasing. He really is incredibly fast, and these songs really show off his chops. This nice thing here is that seeing him live, he can pull off every bit of the record perfectly. The bass (played by one Nevin O'Hearn) is enjoyable and audible, and really helps the heaviness of the album. The vocals (Josh Harrel) are the high and low style of Black Dhalia Murder, but with higher highs and lower lows. I think the high screams are fine, but I really like the low ones, which I am pretty sure Malcolm does. The lyrics are fine and work well within the music. Special mentions for the clean chorus that sings in the middle of "Destroyer", as it completely makes that song. Production is fantastic, with a great mixing job from Mike Low. Everything is audible this time (you fixed the bass! YAY!). Guitars and solos and vocals are very powerful with their tone. Keep using that studio guys!

UPDATE: I feel it necessary to mention that there are symphonic keyboards on every track. Apparently they are a rather large part of the band's sound and should probably be illuminated here. Since I don't want to lengthen this review much, I will say that they are black metal atmospheric type orchestral keys, they are used a lot, and they are definitely cool.
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Pros: Blinding speed, new drumming much improved and dare I say near perfect, hundreds of powerful brutal technical licks that go towards the melodic side without sounding wimpy, much improved vocals which seem to follow the tried and true approach of high and low growls, ridiculously amazing solos to be found everywhere, keyboards provide sweet black metal atmosphere

Cons: Vocal style not very original (minor complaint, not really worth dropping any points)

In Conclusion: Buy this now. If you like melodic death metal, this is the zenith of that genre. This is as happy of a feeling as when I first heard Decrepit Birth's Diminishing Between Worlds, but Inferi's solos are better, their drumming is better, and their vocals are better. This band is a juggernaut, and with luck they will use this record to rise beyond Tennessee and overtake the world.