VALE OF PNATH II

American tech death metallers Vale Of Pnath's 2011 debut album 'The Prodigal Empire' was real masterpiece and probably my favorite death metal album that particular year, and I still play that album every now and then. Now they are back with the follow up simply entitled 'II'. The album has actually been out for quite a while already, it only took me about a year to realize that it had been released. There's been quite a few line-up changes in the Vale Of Pnath camp the over the last years, and guitarist Vance Valenzuela is actually the only remaining member from the line-up that recorded the debut. Despite this, 'II' follows more or less the same path as its predecessor, which means technical death metal with strong focus on melodies. The material is technical as hell and the guys are all virtouses on their respective instrument, still it never sounds technical just for the sake of being technical if that makes any sence. The production is excellent allowing every detail it's own space in the sound, and all eight tracks are premimum quality death metal. I haven't spent enough time with this album yet to decide wether or not i reaches the same quality level as the last one, but it is sure as hell a worthy follow up to an extaordinary debut so if you haven't checked it out yet it's about time.

Discography:

The Prodigal Empire (2011)

II (2017)