CoC : Divinity - Allegory : Review

Divinity - _Allegory_
(Independent, 2007)
by: Quentin Kalis (7.5 out of 10)

Whatever the quality of music contained within, I cannot fault Divinity for the effort placed into the packaging. It is rather conventional, not unlike I would expect from a band performing melodious modern metal, but considering _Allegory_'s self financed status, it could not have come cheap. It is an encouraging sign -- such resources are not poured into a self financed CD unless the band truly has a passion for what they are doing. It also suggests that the band has reached the stage where they believe that they have achieved the requisite level of skill to justify a recording beyond the demo or the taster provided by a MCD or split CD. This is not an ironclad rule, and such belief may clearly exist despite the absence of any rational justification.

Such justification does exist with regard to _Allegory_, which incorporates Bay Area thrash melodies, melodeath sensibilities and a touch of prog to create an entity to rival those of similar minded bands on the big indies. The vocalist is no less varied, ranging from death growls and screams through to clean vocals. Not all the songs are of equal strength: "Strain", for example, displays an over-reliance on an exhausted thrash melody, and an overuse of similar melodies tends to be a recurring weak point. This stands in sharp contrast to the likes of "Induce", a dynamic and ferocious opener that runs the gamut of their range in under five minutes. Although not a divine (sorry) piece of work, they appear to have a long and healthy future ahead of them.

Contact: http://www.divinity.ca

(article published 3/10/2007)