The Last of Lucy — Godform
California technical death metal group The Last of Lucy have existed since 2007, but didn't release their first full-length until 2017. This was followed by Moksha in 2022, and now this latest epic, Godform.
Right from the outset, it's a fierce attack, with blistering speed and heaviness. It has the tempo of grindcore with the lower octave tones of death metal, and a flair for tasteful dark melody on occasion. Roughly 90% of the material is fuel for moshing/headbanging, and the fluent power of the group really can't be overstated. Their musicianship is simply astonishing, and they seem to be always perfectly on top of the groove.
In a manner consistent with a lot of newer bands, there's a greater element of groove to be found here than in classic death metal, coordinated 'slams' underpinned with 808 blasts, end-of-phrase pauses punctuated with pinch harmonics, and crushing halftime chugs. The blastbeats to be found here are insanely fast, with some of the tightest rapid double bass rolls I've heard. I wouldn't call this 'deathcore', but the band has not completely rejected the style of breakdowns heard in that genre. They incorporate tempo changes in a more fluid way, rather than going for the shock value of an abrupt change.
"Empyreal Banisher" features a heavily Meshuggah-inspired solo, drawing from Fredrik Thordendal's penchant for dark fusion jazz progressions. The following tune, "Twin Flame", has a lovely saxophone solo in its ambient clean section. There are a couple of brief moments of clean vocals as well, typical with some shimmery digital processing, which have a cinematic, choral feeling to them.
The guitar work consists of chunky palm muted low end with flourishes of mostly atonal tapping work. Some dissonant melancholy progressions typical of black metal make their way into the rapid tremolo passages. Their tonal choices are solid, though not particularly memorable aside from the two lovely solos (the aforementioned "Empyreal Banisher" and another in the final titular piece "Godform"). In my opinion the strong point here is the bands' tight interplay and clever use of transitions, variations and rhythmic changes. Often, a particular version of a riff will be played only once, and you can hear how each member has subtlely adjusted their parts to match the specific accents of that iteration, particularly the drummer, who seems to drive the momentum by adding a fill here, a kick roll there.
The vocal's performance is solid, though not particularly distinct, and not mixed particularly loud. The singer's two major voices are a midrange low growl and a slightly higher black metal-esque voice. He punctuates the riffs perfectly and sustains growls with perfectly even breath in many places, though there isn't much variation to his inflections or tone. The lyrics are largely not particularly audible.
The luminous orange cover art seems contains some ambiguous surreal dreamlike imagery, showing some kind of spiritual entity. This is fitting as the name of the band is apparently a psychedelic reference, and the image, which appears to be a painting, is lush and gorgeous. I would love to have it as a poster or shirt.
The production is crisp, clear and modern. Thunderously heavy, and yet largely transparent. Compared to some tech death releases from the early 00's was like night and day. The art form of producing heavy music has come a long way. I might appreciate a little more emphasis on the guitars in the mix, and the drums can sound overly sampled/triggered, but these are stylistic choices common in a lot of modern metal, and undoubtedly this was done with a huge degree of technical precision.
This comes highly recommended to fans of other death metal groups with similarly clever songwriting, such as Alluvial, Aborted or Obscura, as well as jazzier groups like Cynic and Atheist. It would also serve as a good introduction to death metal for the novice, as it contains all the most appealing qualities of the genre executed with class and taste. it is immediately appealing and yet filled with depth. Death metal appears to be thriving in 2024, with a wealth of releases and bands to rival the greatest music of the genre.