Aletheian - Dying Vine (CD)

All Music Guide

A Christian progressive death metal band? Is there really such a thing? As evidenced by the sophomore release credited to Aletheian, ‘Dying Vine,' there sure is. The album was originally issued back in 2005 (after the group had issued several recordings under the ‘Crutch' moniker), but three years later it was reissued with the same exact tracklisting, in a remixed and remastered form (and with a new and improved front cover, to boot). From the aforementioned description, ‘Dying Vine' is an onslaught of metallic brutality, as the death metal guttural grows, razor sharp hightech riffs, and impeccable double bass drumming are seemingly nonstop. As with most death metalesque bands, you'd never know what Aletheian has to say lyrically, as it's darn near impossible to decipher any of the prose without the aid of a lyric sheet (which wisely, is included in the CD booklet). But despite the group's ‘Christian spin' on the genre, Aletheian sounds like your average, ordinary death metal band, as... evidenced by such ditties as "Paragon," "Out from the Shadows," and "The Dividing Line." - Greg Prato, All Music Guide Read more Less