I can't begin to express how refreshing it is to hear something like Lingua Ignota: Part 1. Intense, melodic, and brutal are some of my favorite words to describe music that gives me frission – and I am happy to report that all of that and much more can be said of Persefone's newest release.
Enticingly complicated and hauntingly gorgeous, Lingua Ignota: Part 1 grips the listener from track one and doesn't let go. The band incorporates a swath of metal ingredients that shouldn't work together or even compliment one another – but Persefone found a way to make it happen. From guitar licks that remind me of sun flares to soundscaping that makes it feel as though ghosts are crawling up the bedroom walls, Persefone delivers a driven and thundercloud-dark album.
Huge, choral interludes chop up blocks of impatiently marching melodeath riffs – all while the verses toy with timing and syncopation. Toss in instances of organ-like top notes, hardcore-inspired breakdowns, electronic echoes, synth interludes, tightly-winding guitar solos and Lingua Ignota: Part 1 is a kitchen sink full of ideas and efforts that results in simply beautiful, innovative songwriting.
Persefone sports a new vocalist for this album, Daniel Rodríguez Flys, who delivers remarkably well on both flexibility and tone. His growls are satisfying and ripping while his clean, drawn out phrases are spider web-like – strong enough to hold up to the song but are also somehow vulnerable, delicate, and expressive.
It's a shame that the album only sports five tracks. But lucky for us, this is just part one. I can't wait to hear what part two brings us. Lingua Ignota: Part 1 is eerie and inviting all at once. Sweeping moments lift tracks like "The Equable" out of the enigmatic moat into vast and open spaces. The transition is damn-near breathtaking.
With varying intensities that remind me of early Opeth, tracks vacillate from searing and heavy to lingering, pensive expressions of melody and aching. Sandwiched between the two dichotomies are anticipatory and compelling riffage. Lingua Ignota: Part 1 is a brilliant example of taking metal into new places. Experimental and atmospheric choices in sound decorations usher the album into new territory. By adding traditional metal elements laced together with clever song writing, Persefone have crafted a genius, modern metal album.
