5 out of 5

Label: Gilead Media

Produced by: Spemser Morris

I think there’s a more critical read here where I pick apart some of this album’s indulgences – those highfalutin song titles; kicking off the album with a slower, dissected track – but I accept some of those things as expected when it comes to art metal. What’s ultimately more important to me is how those indulgences are employed to craft the listening experience, and Pyrithe, all aglow with such gilded drapery, have made an incredibly immersive, affecting, and utterly – consistently! – unique experience with their debut, Monuments to Impermanence.

Stepping through this song by song is a bit of a mire, in a good way: Pyrithe blend so many extremes into a cohesive whole that it’s hard to pick apart individual styles, but we range from the chugga chugga of more “standard” hardcore like Isis to the ear- and sense-shattering manipulations of Khylst, while making room for ambience even math-metal moments like Hematovore. Stewed with multiple vocalists and a kind of operatic sense of pacing and storytelling – allowing for narrative “lulls” and explosive highs – I feel like this would rub me the wrong way, but the group never prioritizes the art over the metal; a sick riff or fascinating bit of noise or a killer vocal release or, simply, just a good melody, is right around the corner of any given song, not too fast or too slow on the trigger of such changeups.

Monuments to Impermanence is, indulging accepted, a great album title. If it’s indicative of the band working towards their next release, that’s fantastic. Otherwise, it can be ironic: I’ve been listening to this thing nonstop since I started, scrutinizing the artwork and trying to parse out lyrics but mostly just stunned by the juggling of artistry with the performances, blending a jazzy feel of looseness with the most technical of metal; a “team” effort of guest performers operating as a single, fearsome, awesome entity: Pyrithe.