NUMENTO – THE VILE ENTITY
Label: Independent
Release: 28-10-2022
Author: Matthew McCune
01. The Enigma
02. The Vile Entity
03. Smile
04. Hadal Ground
05. The Riddle
06. Scarlet Haze
07. Invisible Fiend
08. Mother Of Evil
09. Lucifer Rising
10. The Necromancer
Extreme progressive metal is a force to be reckoned with. Not only is a listener presented with complex lyrical themes and rhythmic interpretation, but they are also graced with the brutality that is craved among extreme metalheads like me. This is where Finnish band NUMENTO enters the conversation to satisfy all of your classically trained yet still gut wrenchingly distorted needs.
Hailing from Helsinki, NUMENTO delivers to the highest caliber on their second full-length album “The Vile Entity“. The album begins with a haunting and mysterious track entitled “The Enigma“. Setting up the ominous nature of the album, vocalist Katri Hiovain’s voice invades our headphones, signaling the start of a very poignant journey.
The album then seamlessly transitions into “The Vile Entity“, a standout track with melodic guitar lines perfectly accompanied Hiovain’s vocal style. The dichotomy between unclean and clean vocals is never distracting and one never overstays its welcome. The perfect mix between operatic and monstrous passages leaves us craving more.
The groove-laden “Smile“ follows with a consistent stop-start pattern reminiscent of classic metalcore and groove metal of the 1990s. Almost machine-like in quality, the rhythm section clearly takes precision and uniformity very seriously. The layering of clean and unclean vocals in the chorus sets a clear boundary separating itself from the mechanical verses.
“Hadal Ground“ gives us our next burst of energy with a consistent, classical motif in the guitar line with a minor 16th note pattern driving the intro of the song, making this track feel like a skeleton or some other nefarious mythical creature slowly creeping up on the listener before the cathartic screams and unclean passage give way to the tension.
Following this is “The Riddle“, another groove-based track with the same intensity as the rest of the album, “Scarlet Haze“, a refreshing brutal homage to classic melodic death metal, and “Invisible Fiend“ with its more chilled out middle section breaking up the album to give us a much-needed breath from the action.
The second standout track follows this break in the action with “Mother Of Evil“, which gives the listener a taste of all the band’s musical influences, ranging from classical to jazz to blues rock. The solo in this track is a total banger, giving us a Jimi Hendrix vibe leading into the NWOBHM worship solo taking us on this sensational journey of musicality.
The intensity returns for “Lucifer Rising“, with harmonic guitars and stomping drum patters taking us into the finale of the album, “The Necromancer“, a nearly eleven-minute epic building from a simple guitar line into an epic conclusion of this pleasure of an album.
FACEBOOK: https://www.facebook.com/numentofin
BANDCAMP: https://numento.bandcamp.com/album/the-vile-entity-single