UINTA ESSENTIA
‘Neutrality for Defined Chaos’
Deathgasm Records

By Shane of Last Judgement Zine

It’s been a long debate in Heavy Metal discussions over the years regarding guitar solos. I personally dig the more emotive, fluid, note holding/bending variety, but also have no problem with the short, bursting firestorm solos alot of death metal bands popularized in the 1990’s. And then it comes down to, is it just showing off? (Y. Malmsteen), or a vital part of the composition (Quinta Essentia). Yeah, the two dudes (Jason Flippo and Thom Mathews) handling the solos on this album are fucking brilliant…dual guitar harmonies and solos that sound like James Murphy laid ‘em down.

The entire album is a grand, epic journey of technical death/black metal. According to the band they are “a ritualistic approach to philosophy, the occult, science, and the ancient civilizations vision of Quintessence.” Alright. Sonically this album is like a ride through a forest, into the clearing, over the mountain, and back down into the valley. At times the music blasts forth leaning more towards black metal, more often than not though, it is very tastful and melodic leaning death/traditional metal. The vocals are a treat, everything is here, but it is not overdone, in fact, many times throughout this album the music says/speaks more than the vocals. I mentioned the godly James Murphy earlier, turns out he mastered this album. Overall the production is good, everything converging, yet the bass/drums/guitars/vocal tracks stand out as well. Its a bit trebly for my taste, but in no way takes away from the masterful vision and talent of this band. This CD comes in a beautiful digi-pak with a 12 page booklet complete with lyrics. Underground art at its finest here.

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