Changeling — Changeling

Changeling plays a jazzy brand of symphonic progressive death metal, with a shade more elegance and tastefulness than most of the scene.  Though they are a new band, they are comprised of veteran musicians.  Their self-titled debut is being released by Season of Mist this year in 2025.

I am immediately struck by the nimble movement of the fretless bass, and the impeccable production that makes the guitar tone a pleasure to the ears.  I am reminded of such classic bands as Cynic, Gorguts and later Death, as well as more recent references such as Archspire, Obscura or Alluvial.

The Cynic comparison begins to make sense when I read that this albums has contributions from the very same Jason Gobel who performed on the classic "Focus".   It turns out the guitarist, Tom Fountainhead, played on Obscura's "Akroasis", and other guests appear from such groups as The Faceless, and Ne Obliviscaris.  Arran McSporran of Vipassi and Virvum handles the majority of bass duties, and is, along with Fountainhead's guitar, the highlight of the album.  Fountainhead's sweep heavy solos are truly remarkable, like a gushing torrent of pure feeling emerging from the guitar, technically impressive but also soulfully tuneful.

This is a super group is the truest sense, a massively ambitious collaboration that takes in so many towering figures who have individually left lasting marks upon the sound of metal.  As such, there is a familiarity to the music (in several cases, I ascertained who must be playing on the recording before even reading their names in the liner notes), but this is not a drawback.  What is found on this album is the sound of absolute mastery of craft.  Indeed, it seems a wealth more talented than any band could have, and this album would be the natural successor in any of these bands' discographies.

The tone of this music is significantly more gothic and cinematic than Cynic's "Focus", with choirs, horns and other symphonic flourishes, executed with a black metal melancholia, and echoing the tones of ethereal Scandinavian bands.  As evidenced by the huge list of guest musicians (something like forty people listed), the orchestral instruments (trombones, clarinet, church organ) that were heard in fleeting interludes were no mere samples.  There is a world of parts-beneath-the-parts, present at all times.  The result is a much more dynamic and subtle recording, with a huge depth of harmony.

The hour-long album comes to a close with the sixteen-minute "Anathema", which begins with a Neurosis-esque spoken word section over tribal drumming, with James Dorton's spoken voice, "Theology I can bring myself to study no more / I long to take nature to my heart".  Many of the lyrics follow this existential bent, praising evidence-based belief systems rather than religion.  This song reaches beautiful, dramatic heights with lush orchestration, echoing Ihsahn or Devin Townsend.

This is nothing short of one of the greatest metal albums I've had the pleasure of hearing, and I look forward to gradually unpacking the details as I play the album again and again.